Transcending Politics: Towards an Ethiopia beyond the Current Irresponsible Politics of Opposition Parties
By Semere Gebregziabher
Introduction
What are the marks of an emerging democracy and good governance? This is a legitimate question that all responsible parties should ask and strive to get an answer for it. In my view most of the decisive marks of emerging democracy and good governance are in place in current Ethiopia. My recent visit to Ethiopia, after twelve years, tells me about formidable facts that speak against the empty propagandas of the outspoken opposition supporters in the Diaspora.
Ethiopian farmers today use cell phones in order to find out the market level of their products in the mega cities and towns of Ethiopia. The current flourishing formidable education sector with dozens upon dozens of new colleges and universities are marching to fight illiteracy and ignorance, lifting high the value of education in every province [zone] of Ethiopia. Hundreds of new clinics and new roads are being built at this very moment. The investment environment in Ethiopia has never been so conducive in previous governments of Ethiopia, as it is now. Incentives in the form of attractive tax waivers for limited years as well as free land or lease are given for private investors and corporations who choose to invest in Ethiopia depending on the prospect of their investments.
Transcending versus Black Hole Politics
The Ethiopian government, in many local and int’l medias has promoted its willingness to pardon opposition parties, but also to reconstruct itself towards a better democratic milieu and good governance. The various leadership training given to Ethiopian government ministers and officials from European and American universities is a solid and firm fact that shows the decisive nature of the Ethiopian leaders’ path towards a healthy national development and promising party political environment. A government that is flexible is always ready to reconstruct itself and its programs. Such government has the propensity to transcend its present political program, its own ontological essence, in order to meet the requirements needed to reach a level where Ethiopia’s core interests of development and technological advancements could be implemented without unnecessary delay.
In contrast, the previous two governments have never been willing to reconstruct their partipolitical programs, nor their own ontological being towards development and good governance. They failed to see the interest of Ethiopia that was apparent in their era, and relegated it to the horizon of obscurity. By nature, their cause was simply existential politics that paid attention only to their own interest of survival. For them, their own interest meant everything. This is what I call a black hole politics. A black hole sucks its own light and becomes the graveyards of many shining stars. In other words, the preceding governments of Ethiopia failed to transcend their politics beyond their own partypolitical agendas in order to accomplish the quintessence national interest of Ethiopia.Now, the national interest of Ethiopia is not only guarding its boarders from intruders: It is also meeting the socio-economic development of the country. What the incumbent Ethiopian government is doing today is something unheard of, during the previous socialist and feudal governments of Ethiopia that reigned in Ethiopia for years and centuries with iron feasts.
Unless blindfolded, be it deliberately or unknowingly, the marks of an emerging democracy and economic developments in Ethiopia, at a grass root level are openly visible in a highly encouraging manner. If we Ethiopians are decisively ready to work for peaceful era of development and democracy, the prospect of Ethiopia is bright and great since the momentum of economic and democratic development are in motion never to turn back.
Having said that, it is imperative to probe the validity of HR-2003 that is sponsored and backed by CUD, Shaebia, Egypt and individual birds of the same feather. From recent historical analysis we know that the above have all been working hard to destabilize, and economically keep Ethiopia at the lowest possible below poverty level.
What is sad and immensely horrendous is the role of the so called CUD delegates and co. in pushing for the punishment of Ethiopia through HR 2003. It is known that Shaebia and Egypt have been working hard for many years, in the international political arenas to get similar actions against Ethiopia. The fact that CUD’s delegates have pushed for such punitive action against Ethiopia shows that they, either are not seeing the enemy behind the line or they have aligned themselves with Shaebia’s and Egypt’s alleged agenda of turning down Ethiopia. Moreover, they seem to have been blindfolded with their own local political ambitions and dreams relegating themselves towards redundancy in the path of political black hole. My question is, how can Ethiopian born delegates vow for a punitive action against Ethiopia? Is this not a politics that emerge from selfish ambition of some group who fail to transcend their politics beyond their own ambitions and party political programs? Are they or their party greater than Ethiopia’s interest?
Some ten years ago, a group of Eritreans working for Shaebia in Europe and Scandinavian countries spread the then latest news from Shaebia’s head quarters in Asmara. It was a plan designed to disintegrate Ethiopia and then raise the Oromos from South towards north while Shaebia would push towards south in order to “sandwitch” Tigryans in northern Ethiopia. Now, that this plan has failed does not mean that Shaebia would not use anyone including the devil to attack Ethiopia and its core national security interests. By nature Shaebias politics is not far from black hole politics since its primary interest is itself and its leader, not the Eritrean people. The marks of such a sick black hole politics are:
1) Leaders’ self aggrandization at the cost of national interest
2) Fighting against the national interest of the country
3) Massive flight of people from the country
4) One man rule without any constitutional rule of law
5) Economic flaws of highest degree
6) Aggressive and undiplomatic leadership
7) Stubborn and obstinate leadership
8) Deconstructive of economy and society by nature
9) No prospect of good governance and democracy
10) Trusts no one except itself.
Semere Gebregziabher: