Blogger/UKhabesha Is KINJIT becoming a mere Holy Ghost?
Many have wondered what exactly is meant by the popular slogan “Kinjit MenFeS NeW” (Spirit/Ghost is probably the closest English translation of MenFes). Unfortunately, recent events seem to suggest that there is a danger that Kinjit is probably becoming the elusive and debatable Holy Ghost, rather than the Second Coming of Jesus that would rally doubters and sceptics to strive for a democratic paradise in Ethiopia.
What has been happening within Kinjit and its support groups in the last two three weeks is disheartening. The fact that there is a crack within the party is no longer news. The Chairman, Eng Hailu Shawel has been open about his displeasure and confusion over the conduct of the party’s delegation which is holding meetings in various parts of North America. He arrived in the United States after the rest of the delegation had arrived, and the latter didn’t even welcome him on his arrival, having themselves received a hero’s welcome at Dulles Airport. For all practical purposes, the delegation seems to have disowned him. Another senior member of the party, Ato Bedru Adem aired a stronger disappointment with the delegation and concluded that “Kinjit as we know it does no longer exist”.
The party’s deputy chair-person and a member of the delegation, W/t Birtukan Mideksa attempted rather clumsily to defuse the fiasco, but all she did was reaffirm the big gossip in town that Kinjit is cracking and they are not even ready to say anything sensible about it.
What is one to make of such a mess? It sounds a little bit childish. Yes, division and coup d'état are commonplace in political parties. But the way things have been happening, the denial and the timing all make one wonder if the party is capable of holding itself together. You don’t just ditch your official chairman around the corner and hold conferences, and not even be bothered to give any explanation about it. I am a huge fan of Kinjit and I don’t mean to favour Eng Hailu over the others; but it is about upholding ordinary principles and civility that one would expect from a serious political party.
The conference in Arlington was apparently tremendous. The moving and witty speech by the favourite Dr. Berhanu Nega and the incessant applause given to him by the audience was something I had never seen in Ethiopian politics before (or, maybe I did during one of the Derg GuBaEs, but then there was no way of knowing if the audience wasn’t ordered to applaud Chairman Mengistu).
While I was touched, much more than I would like to admit, by the eloquent speeches of W/t Birtukan and Dr. Berhanu Nega, I also wondered if there wasn’t a slight display of
irrationally exuberance (to borrow a phrase from the ex Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. The problem with such exuberance is that it leads to bubbles that would eventually burst. And mopping up burst of bubbles is never trivial. At a minimum, the conference should have addressed the looming split and confusion if the aim was to move forward as a group.
True, the delegation is a group of heroes who fought Woyane head on and survived the hideous jail at Kaliti, and that the ecstatic atmosphere among the Ethiopian community in the United States and elsewhere is perhaps well placed. But we shouldn’t pretend that our problems are over. Actually we are back to square one; all we have is our leaders back but at a huge cost. They are back but with admission of guilt and pardoned by the very regime that is at the heart of our problem. So we face hard questions now. What have we learnt from that experience? What next? Are the opposition bracing themselves for yet another
peaceful confrontation with Woyane, then prison and then yE ShiMaGle GirGir followed by pardon from the all-knowing and merciful prime minister? These are questions to be grappled with if politics has to go beyond an occasional adventure that renders the ordinary Ethiopian to death and the infamous dungeons. In his Arlington speech, Dr. Berhanu seemed to pose these questions at various points but never got around to give specific answers.
crailo@onetle.com -------------------------------------------------------------------
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