Ten years from now, if historians were asked to look back and name five key events that shaped Ethiopian political landscape over the last three decades, they would have to acknowledge: i) The fall of the Derg. ii) The ascension to power of the TPLF helped by Eritreans. iii) The war between Eritrea and Ethiopia. iv) The 2005 Election v) Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Conference on Good Governance, Peace, Security and development. Not many would dispute the significance of the first four. However, the last one will get the most resistance-understandably, because it is speculative. Why was Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Conference on Good Governance, Peace, Security and Development significant for the future of Ethiopia?
No matter how one chooses to look at it, Ethiopia is at crossroads. How things will unfold in Ethiopia in the next five years is any one’s guess. However, all the indicators seem to provide ample warning that, unless Ethiopia makes a drastic change, as Mr. Yussuf Kalib during the conference stated, “What is taking place in Somalia will be a Child’s play.”
There are some clear signs that indicate the likelihood that things can turn rather ugly. On the 13th of April 2010, the Bureau of Consular Affairs, The State Department alerted U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Ethiopia. It warned travelers that, “extremists from Somalia and the heavy military buildup along Ethiopia’s northern border pose risks to safety and security, particularly along Ethiopia’s borders and in the Somali region. In southern Ethiopia along the Kenyan border, banditry and incidents involving ethnic conflicts are also common. Travelers should exercise caution when traveling to any remote area of the country, including the borders with Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan. Ethiopian security forces do not have a widespread presence in those regions.”
Ethiopian troops are spread so thin that it is becoming evidently clear that the tentacles of the TPLF are debilitated to the point that the State Department is openly expressing concern. Ethiopia is like an active-volcano that is bubbling up ready to erupt at any moment. There is ongoing war with Somalia, active rebellion in the Ogaden and unrest in the South and Gambella. The unresolved border issue with Eritrea and the dynamic situation with the Sudan could turn against the TPLF regime in a big way. In addition, a volatile political situation throughout the heartland is bubbling up. Moreover, there are rebel groups such as EPPF, OLF and TPDM operating throughout Ethiopia ready to take over.
On April 24, 2010, The Reporter, a pro TPLF newspaper reported, “Armed bandits who carry out ambushes in the woods nearby Dabat as well as Debark and Wogera, small neighboring towns within a radius of 40 to 100kms from the northeast Ethiopian town of Gondar, are becoming a threat to the security of the localities and travelers crossing these village towns, it was learnt. According to the unnamed government official, the security situation outside these small towns has been worsening at an alarming rate with armed bandits [a usual metaphor for freedom fighters] wreaking havoc outside these village towns.”
This urgency is what compelled some wise and concerned Ethiopians to act and act now. The conference was a sign of imminent change. It is a sign that Ethiopians are desperate to find ways and means that can help unite their fractured country. It is a sign that Ethiopians want to find common grounds that unite them. It is a sign that they want to find a platform for all to come together. It is a clear indication that they want to find issues that they can agree-on. They understand it is time to do it now or else. They also know that they cannot work with the TPLF regime.
It is with this picture on the background that Ethiopian intellectuals, opinion makers, concerned individuals, political leaders, humanitarian organizations, advocacy groups, representatives of ethnic and regional communities decided to come together. This urgency is what motivated Ethiopians to invite representatives from various international organizations, individuals and stakeholders to come and address Ethiopian related matters. It is the reason why, for the first time, Ethiopians invited Eritreans to address them. Ethiopians invited two Eritreans and, I felt honored to have been on the side of the esteemed Dr. Berhe HabteGiorghis representing the Eritrean point of view.
The Eritrean message was simple and principled. It is a message of peace for all of Ethiopia. It is a call to cooperate for the future good of the people of Ethiopia and the region. It is a call for actions against the TPLF. It is a call for a new thinking and attitudes. It is an urgent call on all Ethiopians and the people of the region to refocus on what is important for the mothers and kids who suffered needlessly for decades due to political and military upheavals in the area. It is a call to refocus on rebuilding our communities, infrastructures and reservoirs. It is a call to work on the bread-and-butter issues, education and health for the people of Ethiopia and the region.
While my expectations were limited, I was hopeful that we can take-away something worthwhile from such a conference. However, I was weary because I did not know what to expect. I came early to listen to some of the speakers ahead of our program and I was pleasantly surprised by their focus. They focused on the TPLF. In fact, if I am to describe it. I would have to paraphrase a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the TPLF, {The Diaspora opposition held a gathering in Washington D.C. The conference, entitled "Conference of Good Governance, Peace, Security and Sustainable Development in the Horn of Africa ", was almost exclusively focused on TPLF. Any other country was mentioned tangentially and only in context of criticizing TPLF. Indeed, the only agenda of the organizers was to dethrone the TPLF.} That in a nutshell was the spirit of the gathering.
The Panel
Initially, the panel was to address Ethiopia and Eritrea. However due to shortage of time, they collapsed a forum that was to address Horn of Africa related matters into our panel. Therefore, instead of the planned four presenters, we doubled and cut the time for presentation in half. That meant that we had to adjust our speeches and left with little time to address some of the notorious statements made by two hostile panelists. These two were very inhospitable, notorious and seemed intent on derailing the Eritrean Message of peace. They were the true advocates of hate and the warmongering that perpetuates the hostility between the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia in the past.
However, we remained focused and conveyed the Eritrean message. The message was that Eritreans are ready to cooperate and to start working together with some basic common understanding. Dr. Berhe articulated clearly, to continue on the old path would not bear fruit and explained, hostile comments will only ruffle Eritrean feathers and rub them the wrong way. My message focused on the new relation between Eritreans and Ethiopians in the Diaspora, and how to develop it in order to benefit both peoples.
We went with clear understanding of the types of challenges we were likely to face and prepared to face it and we did. The only way I can describe the environment is, as surreal. The audience was curious, attentive and hospitable. However, it is difficult to gauge the feeling and clearly, there were some that were suspicious of our presence. The audience had limited opportunity to ask questions and they directed it mainly at us. The underlined tones of the questions were that Eritrea wants to destabilize Ethiopia. There was also a question from an individual who lived in the border area in the past. He claimed that Eritrea is denying Ethiopians access to Ethiopians in the border. We refuted the assertion that Eritrea wants to destabilize Ethiopia and clarified that our purpose is to help establish people to people relationship in the Diaspora and that peace can only come when individuals make a personal commitment to peace and cooperation. To the Ethiopian from the border, we explained that Eritrea is an independent country and if he wanted to visit Eritrea he needed to go through the proper authorities and obtain a permit. Dr. Berhe explained to claim that Ethiopia deserves this or that from Eritrea is basically preparing the people for war and that is not the way to achieve peace.
The Key
This was a useful and necessary exercise. It is about time that we broke ice and discovered each other. Through the opportunity the conference provided, we discovered that intellectuals have a role to play and that role needs to be constructive. For long, Ethiopian opinion makers have found comfort on old arguments and led their people to hostile directions. Many failed to recognize what Eritrea is all about and basically dismissed the people of Eritrea to the detriment of the people on the region. However, after decades of hostility there is a mutual interest on rebuilding the connection.
The key is, even with all these challenges, we were rewarded beyond our expectations because the conference released a declaration that stated, “We encourage the continuation of the relationship that has recently been started by scholars from Eritrea and Ethiopia, and hope that such conversations would lead to new beginning, which will be mutually beneficial to the brotherly peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia. Everyone knows that Eritrea and Ethiopia are invariably linked by history, religion, culture, economy, and security. It is thus costly and wasteful for both to maintain the status quo.” End quote. This is significant on many fronts. For the first time, Ethiopians have made a commitment to work with and not against the people of Eritrea on record. Most importantly, it gave all participants a green light to work with the people of Eritrea openly. This is a major shift on attitude and a positive development.
What this means to the last Dynasty of Ethiopia
With the election fast approaching, Meles found it appropriate to send a group of his celebrity politicians called Medrek to the United States. Their aim was to give appearance of as if there is a legitimate opposition party in Ethiopia, to boost the confidence of their constituency and most importantly, to counter the messages of the conference in DC. They wanted to control the news-cycle and take over the messages. They wanted to infuse wedge issues such as Assab to keep the Diaspora fractured. In an effort to steal the message of the new relation between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Ghebru Asrat was saying that he is ready to work with Eritreans and promised to get back Assab “Legally”!. By the same token, Siye Abraha was openly asserting a claim to Assab. Moreover, the TPLF went the distance to discredit the conference and, after the conference tried to undermine the success of the conference but failed.
The problem for the TPLF is that Ethiopians are fed-up with their antiques and have moved on a different direction in comprehensive ways. Ethiopians approached the conference with a great deal of sensitivities and practical understanding of the issues and participants. They solicited participation from all the stakeholders. And for the most part they have succeeded. What this shows is that Ethiopians are ready to move away from ethnocentric rules and that they are ready to govern a country where all have voices with a legitimate role in ruling the country. They showed willingness to cooperate with each other with one aim, to get rid of the ethnocentric junta and received tremendous support. They also encouraged participation from other countries in the region.
Concluding Remarks
This was a remarkable undertaking for all those who participated and the organizers. Ethiopians needed it desperately and it took place in the most critical moment in the history of Ethiopia. This is a new beginning and needs to be encouraged and it must succeed because failure means goodbye to Ethiopia. Ethiopians have learned valuable lessons from this event and I am sure they are itching to build up on the success. The feedback was extremely positive from both sides. It showed that people are hungry for more. Therefore, it is high time that people take ownership of the issue and make personal initiatives to encourage this positive development. However, they should not be complacent because time is running out.
For those who participated as audience and presenters it was obviously tense, unpredictable and occasionally gut wrenching. However, after all that was said and done, we have moved the ball a lot further and faster than we expected. What we are witnessing is history in the making by the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia in Diaspora. How we stand at this moment will decide how we will be, at least in the near future. Eritreans and Ethiopians need to seize on the momentum and build on this new relation to further the cause for the mothers and kids that are suffering needlessly. We are destined to live together forever. Therefore, we need to start taking the baby steps towards a better future that is based on mutual respect and understanding.
Kudos for the organizers for a job well done!
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