Continued Reflections: Yonas Biru’s Ongoing Campaign Against Visionary Leaders – Eskinder Nega, Dawit Woldegiorgis and Beyond

Bruke Lemma, PhD.

“There are few things worse than mistaking an enemy for a friend.” – Wayne Gerard Trotman

After closely examining Yonas Biru’s profoundly unsatisfactory response and identifying certain ambiguities in my original article, shedding light on Yonas Biru’s clandestine attempts to undermine progressive and forward-thinking leaders like the highly esteemed Eskinder Nega and Shaleka Dawit Woldegiorgis, I’ve composed this follow-up piece. It’s imperative to emphasize that Yonas Biru’s critique of the dictator, Aby Ahmed, as well as Aby Ahmed’s and the other ethno-extremists’ regressive Oromuma ‘ideology,’ is rather hollow and contrived.

We don’t need Yonas Biru to really grasp that Oromuma ‘ideology’ is a deceptive tool cynically deployed to mislead Oromo and other Ethiopians, anyway. We have known for long now that the Oromuma ‘ideology’ is simply a guise, a tool for greed and shameless corruption. It promotes archaic traditions better left in the past, fabricates grievances as an excuse to perpetrate blatant acts of daylight robbery and violence against the impoverished, whom they exploit and oppress—this is the essence of Oromuma, we know very well.

As to Aby Ahmed, it’s truly disheartening to witness our country fall into the hands of this immature, rather embarrassing malignant narcissistic psychopath and his fellow ethno-extremists. Ethiopia, once a country respected throughout the world, continues to be desecrated by this most ignorant of men and his cohorts, driving the country into the abyss and causing the deaths and destruction of millions.

This man-child remains unmoved by the plight of the people of Ethiopia; instead of feeding the hungry and caring for the sick, he continues to procure state-of-the-art killing machines, including drones, to target and kill the country’s citizens—including women, children, and the elderly. What is more, ignorant Oromo elites and other mercenaries continue to support him. One truly wonders what bungled upbringing gave rise to these monsters.

In any case, when scrutinizing Yonas Biru’s writings and other communications, a distinct alignment becomes evident between Yonas Biru’s ‘ideology’ and those of Aby Ahmed, specifically Aby Ahmed’s Oromuma ‘ideology.’ This alignment sharply contrasts with the inclusive and progressive ethos deeply ingrained in Amhara Fanos’ principles.

If we were to contrast the political ideologies of the Fanos with Yonas Biru’s, the Fanos would be more aligned with progressive, left-of-center ideology. In stark contrast, Yonas Biru’s politics don’t merely lean right, but significantly lean towards the far right, much like the Oromuma ‘ideology’ that he ostensibly criticizes.

It’s quite preposterous that Yonas Biru, whose ideological stance significantly leans to the far right, repeatedly attempts to draft manifestos, and continually proposes leadership structures and strategies and so on for a progressive, forward-thinking movement like the left-of-center Amhara Fanos, without being invited to do so. Upon facing rejection, Yonas Biru resorts to labelling these leaders as

extremists, denouncing them by falsely alleging that they cling to centuries-old politics and reactionary views—which is nothing short of delusional.

Who is truly clinging to outdated politics, embodying regressive views that foster extremism? Is it Amhara Fanos and their leaders like Eskinder Nega, Shaleka Dawit Woldegiorgis and others who are champions of equality, human rights, and democratic governance? Or is it Yonas Biru, who implicitly and explicitly supports a constitution that denies these fundamental rights to all citizens in the country—a constitution that discriminates among ethnic groups, denies equal protection for all under the law, restricts citizens’ freedom of movement, and upholds a system akin to apartheid, relegating individuals to second-class citizenship depending on where they happen to reside within the country?

When Yonas Biru argues that the Amhara people, their Fanos, and their leaders have no right to dictate governance to others, it’s an attack on their opposition to the constitution—a constitution that inflicted severe suffering on countless people, especially on the Amharas. This constitution, responsible for the deaths of millions and ongoing conflicts, is being implicitly and explicitly supported by Yonas Biru.

This raises questions about Yonas Biru’s continued attempts to be involved in Amhara politics and his support for the Amhara Fanos, rather than aligning himself with Abiy Ahmed and the ethno-entrepreneurs, with whom he appears to be more naturally aligned—the true extremists.

Clearly, Yonas Biru’s engagement in progressive politics appears highly incongruous. Could he be a Trojan horse for the extremists, an agent sent to sow chaos and confusion? Is he part of the ‘convince and confuse’ politics of Oromuma? Whichever way, his noxious views shouldn’t go unchallenged.

In Yonas Biru’s rather insubstantial and unsatisfactory response, heavily marked by narcissism, he proudly emphasizes his appearances in various media outlets, attempting to portray himself as highly sought after. In any case, the only aspect requiring refutation in his response is his denial of ever using the term ‘Amhara Shene’ to disparage Amhara Fanos. This assertion is incorrect, as I distinctly recall encountering this term used to describe Amhara Fanos in one of his previous articles.

In his response, he claims to have been attacked by Amhara-Shene, essentially the same term that he previously employed to refer to Amhara Fanos. Interestingly, he now proudly extends the use of this term to label Shaleka Dawit Woldegiorgis, Ethio 360 Media, and even myself! To clarify, I am not Amhara, as I have previously stated.

However, I strongly support their cause—a steadfast and sincere commitment that starkly contrasts with Yonas Biru’s superficial support, most likely intended to sow chaos and confusion. Yonas Biru’s support of Amhara Fanos appear more like an opportunistic grab of a platform for his narcissism and histrionics, rather than genuine support for their cause.

Something that strikes me is Yonas Biru’s constant labelling of those who don’t share his views as ‘idiots’—a term liberally scattered throughout his writings and comments, even in his response to my article. This reveals a stark lack of self-awareness, suggesting a deep-seated issue, possibly indicative of narcissism or an immature, childish mindset.

His constantly calling others idiots might have also been self-projections, as such, his insignificant reply, much like his other writings, equally as insignificant, all seem soaked in idiocy. It’s my hope that he might awaken to engage in self-reflection, develop a deeper sense of self awareness, and meditate on how he could genuinely benefit others rather than continuing to be self-serving. To be a slave to one’s ego, as Yonas Biru seems to be, is truly lamentable.