The Last Dance

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Reta Sisay
September 26, 2006

At loggerheads with its own factions and cliques, its up to no-good middlemen and women digging deep in the public’s purse, while genuflecting to the ghosts of the late colonial masters who are collectively personified by non other than "Lady Macbeth," the so-called opposition exhibited its tragic Finale. The last dance.

From advocating insurrection to sharing power in government, from dismantling the constitution to amending some of its articles, from inducing mob rule and riots to redecorating the nation with a rose revolution, from boycotting and denouncing the Peoples' Parliament to holding vigil to free the prisoners–the very leaders who brought all these calamities upon the nation, from conspiring with a declared enemy of Ethiopia and attempting to conquer Ethiopia with an army, to preferring roundtable negotiations with the ruling party . . . the list can go on and on. Understandably, the opposition never had any solid foundation and was a true house of cards. ‘When things fall apart’ there were no other options left to the "house" but the southward free fall. The latest turn of events, however, outdid everything we have observed in the last decade or so.

To begin with, the coalition was nothing less and nothing more than the surreal brushwork of any number of interest groups we can think of. All of whom were meticulous about contributing their best strokes on the same canvas, but failed to acknowledge the most explicit dramatic conflict within their "framed" masterpiece. I literally mean the irreconcilable raisons d'Ltre of the various stake holders. The very premise that such a coalition will be a successful leader will not stand to reason and differentiating fantasy from reality has its own virtues. However unfair it might seem, it is necessary to point out that the very rainbow flag one of the groups carried and paraded in Addis Ababa, was not different from the flag the gay and lesbian communities in the west happen to use as their banner.

This sort of inadequacies can be overlooked in times when matters such as "insurrection" are at the top of the agenda. But, in times such as today, when the very question of the day happens to be which flag is to be used to drape the caskets of some aging and frail individuals, any allegiance to this or that flag should be a proper topic of discussion. And by all means, we should make it clear that this discussion should not include the sellouts who desecrated Ethiopia’s treasured flag in the streets of Asmara and Mogadishu.

A casualty at an early age, CUD, along with the Oromo and the Ogaden "Liberation Fronts", along with the still-born child of Shaebia, known as the "Patriotic Front" (EPPF), have forged an even bigger front to bring down the Ethiopian Government. It would not have been a bad idea, except that both of these fronts do not even recognize Ethiopia, as it currently exists. They believe Ethiopia is a colonial power occupying their land. And equally important, CUD, if at all it functions, happens to forget about the charges of using unconstitutional means to change the government. The faculties that balance and think this through were long gone in the dysfunctional family, otherwise it would not have forgotten about its leaders in custody, whose charges of treason are still in the courts, and declare war on the nation.

Buffoonery was not hard to come by. The very group that condemns the inclusion in the Ethiopian Constitution of the article that stipulates the nations’ right to self determination, including secession, turns around and forges company with these two separatist groups. It becomes impossible to refute the argument that the part of the brain that deals with the rational world has been long gone and forgotten. Indications for this state of affair (madness), were obvious and we were not surprised when "Lady Macbeth", also known as Ana Gomez, showed up in town and barked in the streets of Washington DC, followed and accompanied by all sorts of clowns. Other than the influence of hostile spirits in their vicinity, what else happens to cause this plague is still not known, but the most perturbed behavior and the violent jerk of the victims in their last hours, makes it unique enough to draw our focus on the last dance of the possessed lackeys of the "lady".

It is so important to these caricatures of Lucifer that the whole world forgets about the shameful scar in our nation’s anatomy for which they are solely responsible. But, as we know, this is not easy. Not an ordinary "night job". But the world is always equipped with the antithesis for every thesis and synthesis. Who will save the day of this wicked congregation? The savior came forth and, behold, the savior promised something even better to her flock: The palace and the throne in Addis Ababa. The only flaw in the plan and the logical cause of the entire tragedy is that the savior herself would need more than a miracle to be saved. That was the beginning of the short-lived marriage. Thus, the last dance.

We can only put aside "Lady Macbeth", whose blemished heart and hands misdirected the most poor and, virtually, the most vulnerable class’ anger towards its own common good. There is a sinister beast in this person of blood stained hands, there is a green eyed monster in this uninvited historical misfit in our domestic political affair. My contempt for the "Lady" is caused by her continual display of irresponsible and erratic behavior in the Ethiopian political landscape, plus, her unique fusion of her mandate as an election observer with her personal ego to control--understandably, a colonialist instinct--along with her lust to fornicate with her willing subjects. This exciting state of middle age adventure, I might add, is not a common privilege around the European Parliament, where endless meetings with gray men is a typical work day. We can all see the marriage of convenience between the lady and the gang.

The shame, however, never shone as bright as when Ethiopians in Washington DC cheered for the Portugese national team when it played against Angola in World Cup 2006. The connection, as we might guess, is their infatuation with the Portugese born "Lady". By far, this was the most despicable act of betrayal of Africa by Ethiopians, since some spineless opportunists joined Mussolini’s colonial army in the 1930s.

To top off this obscene indulgence in decadence, a singer from the old school, whose main trade has always been to flatter whoever was paying, changed the lyrics of her popular song and chanted, "...Ana Gomez, our mother.." instead of the usual "...Ethiopia, our mother..."

It would have been a devastating blow to Ethiopians, if indeed any decent Ethiopian did such a thing, let alone a reputable singer of yesteryears. But, there was no surprise there: it is the same lady that praised and glorified the Master of the "Red Terror", Colonel Mengistu, and entertained his killing machine till it crumbled into pieces. There should be no concern to the ordinary woman and man when such a singer tries to rebuild her ever fading popularity by licking the boots of "Lady Macbeth" and the movers and the shakers of the monies and accounts of the good public of the Diaspora.

It is almost impossible to rule out the skeptics’ claim that Money has always been the motive and that there has been no time as the present for politicians to make the money they have always dreamt of. Indeed, what kind of person can forfeit such a provision, let alone bums that would literally end up unemployed, if all this hullabaloo did not exist? Thus, the assertion that Money as a motive in Diaspora Politics is a fair game. If it was not for this assertion, it would be impossible to explain the takeover of the leadership of the Diaspora Opposition by the most pathetic and delinquent and, to be fair, spoiled self proclaimed "artists".

Speaking of artists, a couple of decades ago, dozens of top international singers and song writers, ranging from Stevie Wonder to Bob Dylan, came together to the aid of the malnourished and impoverished and famished children of Ethiopia. They sang to the world their vow and promise to "make the world a better place". This song has been the dearest of all sounds to humankind. Ethiopians in general and "artists" in particular, must at least measure up to the standards of these men and women whose calls still resonate in the hearts and minds of most Ethiopians. This will not be asking to much, we would think , until we witnessed the "artist" stage his last performance.

A single Ethiopian mother of two, whose family has lost all it had by the recent flooding in our country, was walking ahead of a gentleman and a scholar, accompanied by his four daughters. They were heading to participate in a discussion forum, to ask questions and to vent their concerns with the audience of the Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Like every attendee of this forum, however, they were insulted and humiliated by a dozen protesting individuals, led by an "artist’, whose lyrics and every syllable that came out of his foul mouth were so unheard of, they make gangster rap sound like romantic music. What the "artist" uttered to these groups of people was out of this world. He called upon the woman and said to her, "Woldesh Kiberi anch wusha" and turned to the gentleman and uttered " Lijochihn Yasatah, Kebari Yasatah, ant hodam". I am sure no one will expect me to translate these.

We have heard of all political polemics, slanders and hate speeches that are repulsive enough to be concealed from children. This language surpasses that barrier and introduced us to language that should be hidden from adults. We have never imagined an age and time, when an Ethiopian "artist" would actually stand on the side walks of the streets of Washington DC, chanting his sincere wish to see the death of Ethiopian Children, whose parents happen to see more options than hate and destruction. No matter how it is sliced up, his resolve to see children, specially Ethiopian children, die is by far the most horrific of all crimes we will ever witness in our journey of making the world a better place. As to the "artist" and the rest of the underdeveloped and foul-mouthed chorus, I will bet the world that the good public may want to look at the books and ask for the balance of the funds, but it is definitely not interested in their pissing contest.

We saw how the once an inch-closer-to-the-throne gang of mobocrats ended up unable to face the music they crafted and conducted. The once "future Prime Minister" and his lackeys are but now nothing more than common criminals waiting to be tried under the prevailing constitution. Some "lucky" ones, however, have never left their cozy villas, their brothels and their late hour balcony service with a smile and a whole lot more. All expenses paid and guaranteed by non other than the good public. As a result, they have augmented the business of politics and have packaged it as entertainment. No wonder, "artists" are leading the "revolution". It is only fair to say, the only brain cell in the family has been out seek.

As all classical tragic episodes, this dark denouement, I mean this disintegrated last vow, was not short of a true comic relief. When the bill that called for sanctions of every sort against Ethiopia was introduced, the so-called opposition was the sole supporter. Top-notch lobbyists, hundreds of signatures in support of the bill in hand, the leadership of the opposition, otherwise known as the junta brotherhood, scurried to Capitol Hill. Only to run right back out and as fast and as far as the legs could carry. The reason for the panic and the hilarious flight from the public was seeing a ghost, in the form of an amendment to the bill that even changed its number, whose provisions happen to have added a clause that required the extradition to Ethiopia of the people responsible for the gruesome dark season in our nation’s history, The Red Terror, to face charges of Genocide. After this strange turn of events, members of the opposition’s leadership, even though for an entirely different reason, became an opponent to this bill.

The naive improvisation and spontaneous conglomeration of chromatic chords, the final song the opposition’s leadership presented, which I am inclined to call noise, has come to its virtual tail. We heard them perform the coda and we saw them dance the last dance. As we are bound by tradition to respect the dead, we should wish the faithfully and the faithlessly departed, their caskets draped with the flag of their own choice, to have a brief journey into the unknown.

Reta Sisay can be reached at retasisay@yahoo.com

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