The test of democracy. Or is it?

__________________________________

Paulos Yrgaw(06/09/05)

An old Chinese adage goes, "May you live in an interesting time." The saying however reflects a cursed time where optimism and a sense of longing for a better tomorrow is terribly compromised. At a time when the norm of the dark continent is tainted with a negation of all the bandwagons of democratic principles, Ethiopia is heroically stepping on uncharted waters with a steeled political will to materialize the much sought political rights of her people through democratic streams. This juncture or watershed in history however, does not seem to come to pass, when certain atavistic political parties are determined to turn the drift of time into the 1970s when the colonel set out to destroy the spirit of the Ethiopian people beyond repair. What seems to be tragically amiss amongst the said opposition parties is that, the demise of the colonel did not come on a silver platter, rather it came when young idealists and visionaries opted to take their wall scripted political grievances to the mountains of Dedebit and decorate themselves with grenades to blow the colonel’s tanks so that the Ethiopian people can proudly gain their otherwise lost lives. The article of the noble vision enter alia was to lead Ethiopia into a democratic path where every ethnic and nationality enjoy and exercise their respected norms, customs, habits, languages and have a say in the political realm in an equal footing with the age old dominant ethnic group. This time honored quantum leap however created a psychological aberration to the latter when their deep seated conceit and empty bravado is resonated in its fullest hue under the guise of democratic rights which was bestowed on them by the blood and sweat of the former.

As the news outlets bring to the screens the sad and tragic death of young Ethiopians and the boycott of Taxi drivers, leaders of the opposition parties seem to have a proclivity to compare the incident to the 1974 Ethiopian revolution. This however is needless to say tantamount to comparing an onion and orange. It is also imperative to emphasis that, their sense of grasp of the political dynamism then and now is a mediocre to say the least. The emperor was callous and indifferent to the well being of the Ethiopian people and gave precedence to the glory and seemingly infallible image of the throne when Ethiopians were dropping in droves like flies. The revolution had a concrete intellectual and political objectives and it was embraced and blessed by the wide spectrum of the populace before it was hijacked and betrayed by a military junta. Those who are deluded of witnessing a revolution in Ethiopia at present time are mistaken, simply because there is no revolution. What we are witnessing is a concerted and a heightened hate imbued with a vitriolic sentiment against a certain ethnic group whose sole "crime" is bringing down a colonel and paving a way a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Ethiopia for posterity. The historical choice that we have at hand is deceptively clear-- that is, either to betray and step on the blood of our heroes who had fallen so that a democratic Ethiopia can be realized or to honor their martyrdom by flying high their spirit by living to their expectations. Their dreams and visions can only come into fruition when we invest on the strengths of a democracy rather than on its weaknesses.

Paulos Yrgaw
Ottawa, Canada.

home