By Surafel Admassu
So many things have been said about the TPLF clique since they were at Dedebite Deseret. We should not be rocket scientist to figure out who they are. It has been well known and recorded that they are an anti-Ethiopia and continue to be unless if we are taking an urgent action to stop these viruses that infect our Country drastically. We should stop whining and whispering what’s going on in Ethiopia because, by now, we all know that our country is in a very calamitous condition. So, today, I am not wasting my time by echoing like a parrot that the things have been said more than twenty plus years about the brutality of TPLF, instead, I am focusing my criticism on the people who claim to be on the other side of the political spectrum.
First of all, I appreciate all of the Ethiopian opposition politicians who are trying to bring justice and freedom to our people; however, the same time, I am sick and tired of them. In my opinion, founding the opposition political party with out noticeable action is just like a floating ship on the ocean with out its Capitan. Most of the political parties and its leaders have been tried more than twenty plus years to bring change to our people, however, sadly they failed. The opposition parties and its leaders hurt our journey for democracy. They lost the trust and confidence of the Ethiopian people. Founding the political party and releasing very carefully crafted press release by itself cannot deliver the change we all waiting for. These political leaders never have a clear vision where to take the country.
Our country, more than ever before, is in a crossroad. In this very critical point, we need a visionary political leader who’s ready to pay the ultimate sacrifice to move the ball one step forward, not a leader who wants to lead behind the closet. The opposition leaders must have stop fearing imprisonment and abuses. In the country, such as Ethiopia, fighting for freedom and justice require paying the ultimate scarifies. As we learned from history, our founding fathers had never feared when they were fighting with the Italians and Turkeys. You should not be a politician in Ethiopia if you fear imprisonment and death. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his inaugural address, on March 3, 1933, described it, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” FDR is right when he said that we should not be afraid of anything except fear itself. No freedom fighters in history achieved their goal just simply by giving interviews and releasing statement to the press from the office. Fighting for freedom and democracy require more than that, it requires action and convection, not empty rhetoric or promises.
I always talk with my younger professional friends in Ethiopia about the political situation inside the country, and I also talk to with my school friends who do not have a job and spend most of their time by chewing Chat. Even though they have different life style, their political opinion is steady. They both blame the opposition political leaders for the apostasis of political movement in Ethiopia. In my understanding, the Ethiopian people have animosity towards the opposition political leaders, not because they have bad policy, they just don’t trust them as a reliable leaders. One of my friend said, “Don’t expect that the Ethiopian people support these political leaders again.” According to him, these political leaders are too old and incompetent to lead the political movement in Ethiopia.
Even though I appreciate what these political parties have done, it is time for them to reform their ‘do noting’ political parties. The opposition leaders have failed to push the journey for democracy one step forward. I don’t know what kind of political strategies they have to defeat the dictatorial regime in Addis Ababa? These leaders are terrifying even to use their constitutional rights such as, the right to assemble, expressing their opinion and calling demonstration against the ruling party’s will etc. In this politically charged time, once again, the opposition politicians have failed to mobilize the Ethiopian people who are ready to take on the TPLF junta. The question is; If not today, when are they going to step up?