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Opportunism
doesn’t pay
Ethioobserver
staff writer
These
days, specially concerning the current affairs and developments in
the Horn of Africa, there are people here and there giving
comments either as “experts”, “intellectuals” or laymen.
Some Ethiopian opposition groups in the Diaspora are pretending as
Somalis with pennames, urging politicians in their own
constituency not to heed the call to fight terrorists in Africa.
It is true that everybody has his/her own opinion and the right to
express on the course of events taking place near and around
Ethiopia and how the rise of Islamic fundamentalists would affect
the whole region. With this in mind, Ethiopia as a sanctuary of
all the religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism and other
indigenous and domestic beliefs) is exposed to the threats of
all-round gathering of extremists, poised to unleash a jihad and
thereby create chaos and destruction. For those, who happened to
be far away from these contention and conflict area, it is very
easy to look into the complicated matters of the Horn of Africa in
terms of a simple outcome of an incident or reject it all as a
mere bagatelle.
The
forces behind the so-called Islamic Union of Courts (IUC) are
among others the leader of the Al-Ithad al-Islamia, who was behind
the terrorist activities in Ethiopia (murder attempt against Abdul
Mejid Hussein) and the Ogaden basin in direct collaboration with
fanatics recruited from many parts of the world, the US embassies
in Kenya and Tanzania, etc. The prime driving force of these
groups as sponsored by Al-Qaeda and others (Middle East and North
Africa) is to have a shelter for trainees in order to dispatch
their newly recruited murderers, who are by the way adherents of
the “after suicide-haven” ploy by the extremist imams and
create a “greater Somalia”. The recent announcement by the
leader of IUC, disregarding the inviolability of borders among
countries and considering Ogaden as a creation of colonial powers
without belonging to Ethiopia, is a case in point.
We
don’t normally react or pay attention to some people’s
writings on matters pertaining to all sorts of clamour or
“expert” comments by irresponsible people, as this might give
them a status of importance. However, the fragments and hotchpotch
of ideas contained in an insignificant note by a PhD bearer, which
appeared in Dekialula knocks the record for its
inconsequentiality, duplicity, triviality as well as its shallow
content. As if Ethiopia has the interest to wage war against the
brotherly people of Somalia, the person tries to portray the
politicians trying to transfer funds and wanting to sponsor war
and as an end result create national unity! This is simply a
clumsy statement, grotesque as well by a so-called philosopher.
Even if one is entitled to his own opinion even as a member of an
opposition group, no one misses not even the foolhardy to forward
such allegations and try to create discord among Ethiopians for
the benefit of selfish interests and hideous propaganda.
Ethiopia
has never attacked neither Somalia nor any other country in its
recorded history and many people do know that the two wars fought
with Somalia were instigated by Somali regimes to occupy parts of
Ethiopia and gain territorial hegemony. The sad thing in Somalia
since 1991 has been the civil war raging among different clans,
warlords, islamists, pirates along its coast fighting for control
and the mass migration and exile of the people in a state, which
has unfortunately ceased to exist. Ethiopia and the peoples of the
Horn of Africa would have been better off economically, socially
and politically if there had been a vibrant and pleasant Somali
living in peace both with itself and with others. Ethiopia has
abided by the resolutions of the UN, AU and IGAD that recognizes a
legitimate government of the people of Somalia. Moreover, the
situation in our neighbouring state does concern us due to the
dangerous ideology of the IUC, its inflammatory effect to the
entire region.
We
know in earlier writings of the same person, praising the
“Ethiopianity” (creation of the same author and whose meaning
is unheard of) as certified to the gathering of kinijit supporters
in a festivity and his misapprehension or hollow knowledge of the
economic mechanisms, forces, backgrounds and factors behind
famine, poverty and backwardness in Ethiopia or elsewhere in
Africa. The endeavour to create an NGO to be headed by this person
to help the Ethiopian people may have failed, but was a good start
to get the primary education of the economic ills of our society.
Secondly, as opposed to the earlier sporadic definition of the
“positive ethnicism” and “negative ethnicism” as forwarded
by the same author hailing the positive outcomes of the struggle
of the peoples of Ethiopia, the ethnicism card of kinijit is being
harped on to dishonour the Ethiopian people’s right to its
ethnic heterogeneity, safeguarding its different languages,
culture and history, an amalgam of rich and harmonious unity of
nations and nationalities. It is an inexorable truth that the
unity of Ethiopia and Ethiopians is based on accepting the rights
of the peoples to exercise decentralized self-administration,
where the immediate needs of the people are met. Supporting
quasi-nationalistic groups does not automatically mean national
unity. On the contrary, we have since the election seen a
concerted hatred against one or the other nationalities, targeting
them through rigorous campaigns and thus adventuring and
questioning their existence as well as their citizenship as
Ethiopians.
There
is also one big factor, being intentionally evaded by the author,
knowing the simple fact that Shaibya, the number one agent of
destabilisation in our region is arming both IUC and some elements
of kinijit in the so-called AFD, tailor-made according to its
wishes and intentions. Instead of attacking and exposing Shaibya,
which harbours and sends loads of armament to carry out its war by
proxy, the note entirely puts the blame on the “current
leaderships of Ethiopia and Somalia” (No one knows who in
Somalia IUC or TNG was recognized as the current leadership).
Ethiopians do well know that the forces of evil are hovering near
and around and these forces cannot be tolerated to threaten the
internal peace and stability of Ethiopia.
To
talk in the name of Ethiopians one has to understand the
psychological make-up of those born and raised in the country.
Double nature Vacillating and waging whenever opportune time comes
to either give support to one or the other does not pay in the
long run. Steadfastness in ones own way of conviction is what
matters for persons of principles and high learning. Above all if
one opposes issues of paramount significance for the security of
the country, one has to come up with alternative means,
corroborated on facts in order to tackle and address any problem.
We as people, who want to inform the people using the English
language (maybe 3-5% of the entire population speaks and
understands), should know that constructive criticism is the best
approach to realizing our ideas and message.
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