Woyanne’s bankrupt policy of divide and rule

OMFEU Commentary | June 16, 2008

 

“TPLF/EPRDF; instead of seeking a genuine solution for problems pertaining to nations and nationalities in Ethiopia in line with the constitutional provision, has resorted to opportunistically exploit this same legal framework to sow hatred among the Ethiopian people in its quest to cling to power through its cheap tactic of divide and rule. This therefore is one of the major problems that our country currently faces.”  The above line is quoted from our founding document issued during the year 2005. The unfolding situations in the country since then have fully confirmed this assessment as correct and valid.

 

It is more than suffice to just recall what Somali and Oromo elders living in and around Meiso town had to tell VOA reporter only two years ago. Their stunning account went roughly as” Government officials came to Oromo side and incite them to push back Somali’s from the area and a little while later went to the Somali side and agitate them to do  the same. They promised to both groups separately to provide financial, logistical and administrative support for the scheme. Had it not been for the timely information we received on this conspiracy, we would have been dragged into senseless fratricidal war by now. We were able to uncover this plot through some of our elders who were invited to both sessions by mistake owing to the origins    they have in both groups. We never thought that such things could ever happen in our country. It did happen and we are extremely sad about it. For us, it was simply a heartbreaking incident that we do not want to see happen again anywhere else in our country.” This in brief was what these elders had to warn their fellow compatriots on Woyanne’s venomous policy of divide and rule.

 

Judging by political developments thereafter, unfortunately, it does not appear that we have been able to draw an appropriate lesson from the genuine advice of these elders for various reasons. This is primarily so due to continuous measures of harassment Woyanne deliberately takes so that people will have no breathing space to jointly reflect on its pernicious and divisive activities over the course of time.

 

The first victim of such a policy had been the VOA journalist herself. This very incident did cost the courageous, highly professional and diligent reporter by the name Nouamin Bikila a career that she loved and built over the years under one of the most journalist unfriendly work environment in the world. For all we know, she had been one of those VOA reporters in Ethiopia who successfully communicated to her audience what VOA’s claimed attributes i.e. accuracy, balance, comprehensiveness and objectivity were meant in practice. Unfortunately, we haven’t heard of anyone coming to her defense when Woyanne refused to renew her license and by so doing kill her dream for nothing other than she unflinchingly stood for those attributes.

 

The until recently unknown phenomenon in Ethiopia is thus becoming a matter of regular occurrence these days by way of sporadic but systematic eruption of hostilities between different peoples of the country now and then and here and there. Right now, this phenomenon could rightly be asserted as constituting the major illness of the country. In this regard, the recently reported clash in Wollega area like it was elsewhere in the country need to be put within its proper context so that the ultimate political proceeds sought by the perpetrators could successfully be aborted.

 

It is deeply wounding to witness the blood of innocent civilians be spilt just like that for nothing other than help advance the interest of a certain groups devilish’ lust for power and property. It is even more so to witness the prime losers of tomorrow lending their helping hands to such barbaric deeds of today.  One of the ways of maximizing political proceeds out of such incidents is to try to make it appear as a clash between peoples, in this particular case between Oromo and Beneshangul, and incite and instigate hard feelings through circulating charging hearsays and derogatory name callings thereafter.

 

Our own sycophants and foot-soldiers of a certain “Don Quixote a La Messer” by the name Megalommatis, who seemed to have convinced himself as waging a decisive battle against Ethiopia right now, have spent no time to jump into this trap and deliver what Woyannes have exactly hoped to get by pouring their derogatory name callings on the people of Beneshangul. It does not occur to their mind that by so doing they have effectively become instruments of Woyanne’s plot and not in any way support or avenge the blood of our people. Such actions only serve to misdirect the focus of our effort from the very perpetrators of such heinous deeds to that of innocent people in both sides having no role whatsoever in such deeds.

 

What handful operatives of Woyanne commit on behalf of other peoples or on our behalf does not in anyway reflect the interests of our peoples. Such measures could only be Woyanne’s maneuver to realize its satanic objective. Woyanne’s main goal of such a maneuver is to deny a friendly rear for opposition groups by trying to isolate them from all adjacently living people. This policy has long been expressed in a book they got it published under the name of a certain Abba Dulla Gemedda, a policy that aspires to create a sense of encirclement amidst the Oromo people.

 

If not for the shortsightedness and utter lack of political experience on the part of these individuals, a sober minded ordinary mortal would not miss the strong historical tie that exited and still exists between the peoples of Oromo and Beneshangul. Just to cite few examples in this regard, Dejazmatch Abdurahman Hojjelle had been one of the active members of Metcha and Tulema Association delivering notable contributions in cementing the relationship between our peoples that presently manifests itself through mutual influencing in the area of culture and language. Besides, one of the pretexts Woyanne used to wage a major crackdown on Beneshangul Liberation Front and Beneshangul Relief and Development Association members during the year 1994 and 1995 was nothing other than their alleged cooperation with OLF. 

 

Hence, we urge all those who irresponsibly rush to pour down their denigrating remarks on any people for that matter to refrain themselves from such silly behavior and reorient their thoughts and activities in such a way that helps expose the real perpetrators from behind the curtain and not target the innocent people. The correct policy we need to pursue in this regard is to try to reroute all Woyanne’s cruelties back to itself so that at the end of the day no one but itself to fully pay for those heinous deeds.  

  

Finally, in a sick country like ours, nothing seems to be done or move in a right direction. There is nothing more that best depicts this assertion than looking into the rationale behind entrusting the task of organizing the so-called National Flag Day celebration to Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Besides, looking into the mystery behind hiding the impending famine from citizens and hurrying to solicit assistance from international community without first trying to exhaust national capabilities can also reflect on the very nature of the current illegitimate rulers of the country. On the latter issue, we would however like to call upon NGOs, especially those which have operational presence in the drought affected localities, to synchronize their efforts and present themselves as a unified viable alternative through which fellow country people especially the Diaspora community could channel their assistances to the drought affected fellow compatriots.

 

Ormomo Movement for Federalism and Ethiopian Unity can be reached at Omfeu05@gmail.com