Harassing American Senators, the Kinijjit Way

Ethiopia is an infant democratic country. In the process of building democracy, there are ups and downs. The USA has had so many growing pains in building its world class democracy but no country dictated how its democracy should be built. Likewise, Ethiopians should take the lead to building Ethiopian democracy that ties to our cultural believe, international standards, and traditions. No dual citizens or Diaspora should impose any restriction on how the Ethiopian democracy should flourish. No foreign country singly or multilaterally dictates which way our Ethiopian democracy should travel. Nevertheless, Ethiopia should be open to adopt democratic governance from other countries that could easily fit to our cultural and traditional values. Democracy, as I have mentioned it in my previous article, is a process. Democracy grows when citizens’ understanding of their rights and obligations grow. Whether someone is a supporter of Kinijjit, ruling party, or indifferent has almost have the same mentality or thinking like any average Ethiopians. Some supporters suffer from selective hearing and vision. For instance, someone who is the supporter of Kinijjit can be unwilling to hear goods news about the ruling party or observe tangible evidence produced by it. The same thing may apply to some ruling party supporters. For now, based on the evidence and satisfactory economic results I see, I am the supporter of the ruling party. However, I am still open to read, see, and listen to the heart beat of the Diaspora Kinijjit supporters. As I was regularly visiting various websites including Ethio media, I stumbled across news, “Protesters ask Senator Inhofe to be fair during_Ethiopia _visit. that was posted on Nov. 23, 2007 on the Ethio media website.

Certainly, I agree with the protesters on one thing that the Senator Inhofe should be fair during his visit. I believe it is common sense that anyone who lost loved ones will be in great sorrow. In our culture, many of us my believe justice to be served “Blood for Blood”, “eye for an eye”, and more. What does common sense tell us? By talking to the victims, are we going to comfort them or are we going to ask them why, where, and when their loved ones are killed or maimed? Or are we going to reinvigorate their pains and sorrow? Should we focus on the wrong doing or on the lessons learned? If Kinijjit leaders admitted to instigating the violence, shouldn’t they be accountable and pay compensation to the victims? The party has raised enough money while it was in the USA, I think it is time for the party to compensate those victims. Once the Senator completes its visit with the victims, he should put pressure on Kinijjit leaders to compensate the victims of the 2005 riots.

I strongly believe that the Senator should also visit the parliament, the new factories, regions (kilils), farmers who are the beneficiary of EPRDF’s long term strategies, electric dams, stock exchange, primary and secondary schools, universities, and others. I am also asking the ruling party to have every thing available and accessible for Senator Inhofe to see things to believe. The respectable Senator knows very well the difference between developed democracy and developing democracy.

Did you recall Eng. Hailu Shawel pleading the defunct Kinijjit led by Wzt. Birtukan before their departure to the USA that they must visit the victim families? If I were these leaders, the first thing I would have done is, it kills me to agree with Eng. Hailu, but to score more political points by visiting the victim families. In addition, I would have addressed my constituents and expressed my gratitude for standing behind me during the imprisonment. As naïve political party as Kinijjit is, it is not matured enough to plan and foresee its long-term objectives. Definitely, its short-term objective is to remove the ruling party at any cost. They have paid the price. Some remnant supporters and dreamers are still oblivious about the Ethiopia political landscape. Ethiopia has changed forever. No to Derg, no to Imperial ruling, and no to HR 2003. Since Senator Inhofe is a strong opposition of HR 2003, the Diaspora Kinijjit supporters are harassing him. They are asking the Senator to do something that they have not asked their leaders to do.

Not too many Diaspora Kinijjit supporters have the guts to demand Wzt. Birtuken or Eng. Hailu to visit and comfort the victims of the 2005 election. This is one of the grandiose historical mistakes made by Kinijjit leaders, in addition to their refusal to represent their constituents in Ethiopian parliament. Instead, their noses pointed at the direction of the smell of money. Following their noses, they headed to Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia. The historical mistake is their ignorance of the power of their constituents. The ruling party, the Diaspora supporters, or the USA cannot issue a ticket to enter parliament but the constituents. Hence, Kinijjit leaders continue to amaze me with their naïve political strategy and continuance to compromise their country and their integrity to appease a few Derg sympathizers in Washington, DC.

Political naiveté comes from the inexperience in political arena. Blind support comes from unwillingness to openly discuss and debate the facts and the possible solutions. Our political struggle, debates, discussions, or arguments should not be about winning but about what best works for our country. If all of us are running to win, then it becomes personal and the country’s future will be at risk. It is OK for Kinijjit leaders to admit their historical mistakes. After all it is the brave and self-confident that admits to mistakes and work not to repeat it. My strongest advice to Kinijjit leaders is to bring the Diaspora supporters’ tone down. By harassing, intimidating, and canvassing the Senator’s home or office, they cannot bring a long lasting and viable solution to the Ethiopian democracy. History teaches us that it did not work for Cuba, Iraq, China, and many Arab countries and certainly, it will not work for Ethiopia.

Asking Senator Inhofe to do what the Kinijjit’s leaders are not able to do is hypocrisy at its best. The victims of 2005 election should have been visited by Kinijjit leaders first and compensated by the same leaders as they are responsible for instigating the riots. The onus is on Kinijjit leaders to be part of a productive society. I beg Kinijjit leaders, in the name of peace loving Ethiopians, to stop harassing the USA Senators. I also beg the same leaders to think strategically and if possible to out smart the ruling party. If they do this, history will remember them as honorable Ethiopian leaders. Until then, I advice them to stop their hypocrisy and brash their naiveté and start shining again.

Haile B.