Strategic Blunder of Historic Proportion

(Ginbot 7)

As dismayed as we are to hear the news of the EU’s decision
to send a team of election observers to monitor the 2010 sham
election in Ethiopia; we are also gratified by the unflappable
courage and principled stand of Ms. Ana Gomes, who led
the EU-EOM team to Ethiopia in 2005. We salute her
commitment to democracy and social justice in Ethiopia
and around the world.


From the vantage point of the overwhelming majority of
 Ethiopians and astute political observers, the upcoming
election in Ethiopia is nothing more than window-dressing
to maintain the status quo ( Meles’ iron fisted hold on power).

In a country where the TPLF regime sets the rules of the game
 for elections and continues to impose and enjoy exclusive
political domination, it is ludicrous for the European Union,
or, anybody else to presume that there will ever be free and
 fair elections in Ethiopia.

However, what the EU can count on is that the election will
 be rigged; opposition candidates will be harassed, intimidated,
 and will be mercilessly attacked by the regime’s security forces
 or its minions.

A rogue regime that openly threatens its opponents with post
“election” imprisonment and flamboyantly declares to the world
that it is jamming the quintessential voice of democracy
[Voice of America]; has no credibility and legitimacy whatsoever,
to hold a plausible election worth observing.

If the EU wants to play a role in this travesty of an election,
 even by African standards, so be it. However, for the record,
 we would urge the EU to reconsider its decision, since it will
damage its credibility and compromise its moral authority to
observe future elections. The Ethiopian election is already
won and it will be tragic if the EU signs of on it with the
usual platitudes.

Ginbot 7 would like to remind, once again, members of
 the European Union that the Ethiopian people have
irreconcilable differences with the tyrannical regime of
Meles Zenawi that has wreaked havoc on the country for
19 years. We will remain resolute in our commitment to
“free our country” and will continue our struggle until a
genuinely democratic Ethiopia rises from the ashes of tyranny.