Grave Error

Retta Sissay
March 31, 2006

Among the groups and individuals that were on the forefront in leading the recent political "crisis" we had in the country, a few have never slowed down. Long after the healing process has begun and long after the dark clouds have disappeared from our horizons, these marginal elements still preach about the need to exalt violence over the entire nation and their determination and will to offer  a generation or two as sacrificial lambs to inch up to the apex of power. In spite of how  "amusing" we might think it is, we are witnessing the burgeoning of evil the rest of the Ethiopian diaspora is subjected to, namely the defaming and venomous genocidal orations that litter the Amharic airwaves of Washington, D.C.

The crimes against humanity being committed by the Amharic radio warriors in the diaspora, including the lost souls on the internet, will far exceed the crimes committed by  the Radio Libre des Mille Collines  journalist in the 1994 Rwanda. In the words of these breed of journalists, of course, "the graves are not yet full." And it is not an accident that the world finds these heinous crimes of our journalists as crimes against humanity.

These small time hit men-turned-media outlaws, whose credibility is as good as a used toilet paper,  will love to see the Ethiopian civil society, across the board, tossing machetes and grenades and slinging rifles and guns; they will love to witness the demon in humankind get unleashed on our homeland. They can't wait to see  another generation or two of their own breed being hushed up, because, according to these fugitives at large,  wanted for all versions of high crime and misdemeanor, "the graves are not yet full."

The aging  hounds of the "Red Terror" regime have decided not to wake up to the honest portrait of a peaceful and democratic community thriving under the rule of law. And they have several good reasons for that: First,  their reign will be  left without a comparison and will remain the darkest spot in our nation's chronicles; second, by design, their success and triumph is dependent, solely on death and destruction and not a growing economy or a progressive community. The most important  reason, however is not only their wish Numero Uno, the seizing of  power, it is also the money that is being made on the long march to "victory". It is only fair to say that the leaders of this extreme stance will never come out losers. They have crafted a cunning scheme that can not fail its authors, otherwise known as the "small time crooks".

Having seen their motives naked on every bill board we have come across on our way to build out nation, the obvious question is how far would they go? I will be less graphic in my answer: The Stygian nobles are  to stop at nothing short of an Ethiopian national holocaust that will make the June and November 2005 incidents of Addis Ababa  look like a hunting party in Yorkshire. Because and only because, according to the "gentlemen's club" that raped the innocence and youth of millions of Ethiopians, the "graves are not yet full." 

It may be debatable whether such a scheme would work for these hoodlums, but that does NOT necessarily mean that the Ethiopian Civil Society is ready to play the guinea pig in their laboratory of social experiment. Better yet, this unique and truly Great motherland has paid dearly to get to its  present state and deserves a lot better than the customary bloodshed these corrupted and criminal elements are willing to offer. Again, according to these pallbearers, there does not seem to be a shortage of a burial site and they swear in their gods that "the graves are not yet full." Simply speaking, this is what is called Grave Error.

It may not be advisable to argue with these merchants of death and their claim, but it is absolutely important to spell out to these hounds of Lucifer, that the graves they are referring to are none other than the caskets that are to be filled with their remains, as a disenchanted heretic in the diaspora  recites a  requiem at their wake and spiritual cremation. But we should be generous. Even these decadent creeps, with both feet in the grave,  must have such shining moments and a final resting place, as long as that place falls within the confines of the  graves  they are so enthusiastic to fill.