Numerous readers have reached out to me via email, seeking a factual clarification regarding my previous comment on the matter of Kinijit International Leadership. In response, I have conducted thorough research, engaging in discussions with individuals who have been closely monitoring the situation, and attempting to obtain the letters of correspondence from my sources. I am pleased to present a comprehensive overview of the communication between Kinjit kaliti and Kinijit NA. I possess all the necessary documents to substantiate this account, and should the deadlock persist, I am prepared to disclose it to the readers of this blog and other media outlets.
14 May:
The imprisoned leaders in Kaliti sent a letter giving a power of attorney (enderasenet) to form and lead an international committee to six individuals.
I quote the exact wording of the first two paragraphs of the letter.
Inspite of imprisonment of most of the top leadership of the CUDP in early November 2005 and subsequent massive repression throughout the country by the EPRDF, the Ethiopian peoples struggle for freedom and self government has continued. But this struggle will lose its life if the present state of leadership vacuum is not addressed.
After consultation with each other, we, the jailed leaders of the party have recognized that the formation of an International Committee to fill the leadership gap is imperative.
We have decided that this designated Committee will be an overarching body whose responsibility is to direct and lead CUDP organs, Continental Chapters and Support Groups.
I couldn’t quote the exact wordings of the other paragraphs for known reasons. In the letter, the six individual to lead the organ were named.
They were:
1. Shaleka Yoseph Yazew
2.Ato Andargachew Tsige
3.Dr. Moges Gebremariam
4.Ato Berhane Mewa
5.Ato Daniel Assefa
6.Dr. Gebriye Wolderufael
One of the sentences in the last paragraph reads:
We ask this information to be communicated to all Chapters of CUDP organs and Support Groups.
The letter was communicated to the six persons through a usual and trusted line. The e-mail addresses of the six were clearly stated on the letter. There was also evidence that all the six read it the same day it was sent. Yet a very surprising article was posted on Kinijit.org. The article entitled “Call for Assertive Action” begins with:
Assertive action ought to be taken to effectively and decisively dismiss the May 14, 2006 e-mail that purportedly assigned leadership of Kinijit via postings on websites even before the Chairman of Kinijit of the North American Branch (KNAB) knew of it.
This was entirely false. The chairman had received the letter the same day.
After this letter was sent to the six persons and then announced to the public, some people started asking questions. Here are some of them:
-The authenticity of the letter
-Whether the designation means the kaliti leadership is going to be substituted
-The wordings of the letter doesn’t reflect Kinijitian spirit
-Some people who were working hard in the support groups weren’t included
This concerns and questions were sent to the leadership in kaliti; and a second letter was sent by the leaders.
26 May:
This letter addresses the concerns. Part of the letter states:
This political leadership committee is by no means a replacement of the Ethiopian leadership. It is a delegation of authority to fill the leadership void which has been created locally and internationally. It is no more than a power of attorney which can, at any time, be revoked.
There has been a serious misinformation and disinformation regarding this matter. Therefore, we plead the above individuals rectify the divisive and damaging campaign immediately. Any dispute in the designated committee should be resolved internally and based on democratic ideals of Kinijit.
The letter has gone further and asks the six persons to broaden the group and add other six persons in the spirit of equity and inclusiveness. The way of adding the other six persons was also suggested.
A day after this letter was sent; Kinijit NA deliberated upon it and sent another clarification request. The request focuses on:
-specific responsibilities of the committee
-accountability
-and the committee’s institutional relationship with Kinijit NA
Two days letter an immediate hand-written message was sent by the leaders to NA.
29 may:
This was one of the two letters which address the second clarification request. To avoid the issue of authenticity, the leaders sent a hand-written letter. I can’t go to the details of the letter for the reasons known to my readers. But the issues it carried were:
-The method of selecting the chairman of the committee
-quorum rules
-number of members of the committee (again)
6 June:
A second clarification letter (hand written and in Amharic) which literally begged the NA people to look at the bigger picture and work together was sent. The first paragraph clearly shows the frustration of the prisoners.
The letter also states the very clearly the powers and duties of the committee. It says the rules, objectives and tasks relating to the Kinijit executive committee apply to the international leadership. It states two limitations to this mandate which I can’t state here. It also suggests the international committee to establish an office which liaisons it with the chapters and support groups it leads.
It has been more than a week since this last and final letter was sent. On almost all of the letters they stated that the international committee should start working immediately. Yet we don’t see anything moving.
Knowing this information, is there any reason for me to lay low when people fail to execute a clearly defined will?