our future should be discussed

(Weldegerima, March 06, 2007)

Dear Editor,

I was attracted to the discussion between one brother from Tigray and Fithi Mehari. I guess both have points to make. Like Fithi I believe we need to to work together for a better future. We can't scratch the wounds of history to deter us from living together. That would be unproductive and probably impossible.

BUT I agree with my Tigriyan brother that we can't forget the past, so that we don't regret again about our actions of the future. We Tegaru regret that the support we offered to Eriterians have been squandered and abused. It has been taken as an offer a slave gives to a master. Eriterians have never mentioned anything good about Tegaru in their media, while our media were bussy telling the world about the Eriterian independence. There was a complete imbalance in the way we were portrayed to the Eriterian youth as compared to what we were told about them.

I have suspicion that these was all because the way the support given was not not made in a sense of partnership, and the ill-treatments of shaibiya, like during the 1977 EC drought, were left unrectified. I personally feel that, we can't be abused again. If Eriterians need help they should ask it formally, and I suppse they should denounce the actions of their brutal government on innocent Ethiopians. At least the world knows that Shaibiya killed innocent mothers and school children at Aider, I guess the Eriterian opposition know shaibiya sentenced death to thousands of Tegaru in the bad days of 1977. Unfortunately we don't hear any Eriterian organized group denouncing such act; not even individuals. The Eriterian opposition should not be allowed to act cunningly asking the Ethiopian government to get rid of Esayyas while harboring these and other ill-treatments towards Tegaru. They have to denounce it, clear and simple.

On the other hand, if our country has to fight, any war in Eriteria, it has to make declare its interests openly. We can't lament about self defense any more. If we do it again it implicates that what we have fought in the 1998-2000 was for nothing. We cant't be timid about our desire/interest to the sea out let. It is a source of all goods and evils of our security. We can't hide our interest about badme and other border areas. Hence making every intention of ours clear to the Eriterian opposition, and getting their consent, we may act. If not acting with out clear mission could igniting the temper of Tegaru and Ethiopians in general. This would again generate the apprehension of all Ethiopians towards EPRDF's intentions and weaken our position in our country's politics. At the same time, Eriterians should present the interest they have in Ethiopia in clear terms. No hide and seek would benefit any one. We have seen enough of the destruction of the decisions made behind the curtain. We were not supposed to fight that bloody war, had it not been to the hidden agreements and/or disagreemnets of leaders. Hence our Ethiopian leaders in particular should come out into the open and help us have trust on them, when comes to Eriteria. Best of luck.

Weldegerima