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Dear Editors,
This is in response to Lulit Amdemariam’s column
last week headlined, “Change from Within” [Volume 8
Number 379, August 5, 2007]. I have been reading her
articles to get a glance of a commentator on a
newspaper that supports EPRDF’s policies. It is also
great to hear what she has to say on different
subjects every week.
On different occasions, she has written about
politics and the rule of law in Ethiopia. On one of
her previous writings, she has admitted that she had
voted for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s party in the
2005 election. Reading her article last week, I felt
like she is not happy about Ethiopians in the
Diaspora, especially with those in the United States
(US).
As an Ethiopian residing in the US, I have taken the
initiative to respond to her and set the record
straight. We are not “tainted” as she may think we
are, nor are we misinformed.
As an avid reader, I learn about a particular writer
through his or her own writing. Lulit is no
different. Your readers in the US have already
learnt one or two things about her. I hope we learn
more as long as she writes on Fortune or any
other free newspaper in Ethiopia. From her past
writings, including last week’s, she seems to be
frustrated at the Diaspora for being united, loud
and fair.
Since our brothers and sisters inside the country
cannot express their feelings, we in the Diaspora
have to.
What is the meaning of being an Ethiopia if we do
not speak when wrong is done? The credibility of the
current government is shattered. The policies that
it has implemented are backfiring. More importantly,
the rule of law is not respected.
Since Lulit’s days in Washington D.C., things have
changed dramatically. Thanks to Kinijit and
freedom loving Ethiopians, Ethiopian-Americans and
friends of Ethiopia have been united. “Tribalism” is
backfiring.
Could this “tribalism” she experienced in the
Washington D.C. area be exacerbated by the policies
implemented by Meles in Ethiopia?
I believe the Diaspora is well informed about our
country. We are more informed than the 77 million
Ethiopians who are not allowed to gather information
and hear all sides. Websites are blocked, as SMS
service is shutdown. Those who have stayed have been
silenced. For the lucky ones that have left the
country, they have united with freedom loving
Ethiopians where they can express themselves without
fear for their lives.
Unless the medium you use (newspapers), television
and radio stations are free from government
influence, more Ethiopians are going to believe the
news we gather at a place where the right of free
speech is protected under a constitution. As a
writer and a person who has lived in the US, I am
sure Lulit understands how the US Constitution’s
first amendment (freedom of speech) is appreciated
by all. We are better off in the US to make an
informed decision relying on untainted news than the
news we are getting from government run media in
Addis Abeba.
I do not have to live in Ethiopia to make an
informed decision or know who to believe about my
country. One has to have all available resources to
“pass a judgment” on the current situation in our
poor country. I might not live there currently - I
was born there and lived in Ethiopia for many years
up until I was forced to leave several years ago -
however, my brothers, sisters and parents live in
Ethiopia.
Belittling those who have disagreed with Lulit and
have taken their precious time to write her as those
“could not identify their armpit from their forehead
when it comes to Ethiopian current events” is
disingenuous. She should not underestimate
Ethiopians in the Diaspora because we are united and
have accomplished more than what she is prepared to
credit us. We live in a free society that allows us
to aim high and reach it.
Lulit has asked an excellent question when she said
“where is the dialog and discourse or even working
together?”
Ethiopians in and outside the country have been
asking the same question for many years. The
opposition parties have been asking this question
since the 2005 election. The ruling party is the one
that rejected dialog and refused to work together
for the sake of all Ethiopians. It is one of the
reasons the Ethiopian people rejected EPRDF’s
policies when a record crowd went out and voted
against them two years ago.
I would like to see an honest dialog, but we have
not seen a shift in strategy from Meles Zenawi’s
government until recently. Since the ruling party is
shrewd when negotiating, it will take the EPRDF a
long time to regain the confidence of all
Ethiopians.
I also agree that there is a lot to be done in
Ethiopia. “Ethnic federalism”, land policies,
religion, human rights issues, freedom of the press,
hunger, economic development and the current war in
Somalia are some of the major issues facing Ethiopia
today. Unless the rule of law is solved first, none
of these issues will be accomplished. The Diaspora
will not return home until the current government
fundamentally changes. The EPRDF has to “change from
within” first.
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