Published 02/27/2011 - 2:03 p.m. GMT
2005 protests in Ethiopia
(JT) The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) called on the Ethiopian youth from all ethnicities and religions to unite and overthrow the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, in a statement the organization announced online and via its radio program that reaches millions of people inside Ethiopia.
Ethiopians need to learn from the North African countries of Tunisia and Egypt to set off what the OLF called a “liberation revolution.” It is “the obligation and historical responsibility of all the peoples in Ethiopia to struggle and revolt in unison against their common enemy- the TPLF (Meles) regime- and remove it from power” said the OLF.
The organization called the reports of economic growth in Ethiopia a “fiction” and the ethnic federalism system a “sham.” In its recent radio program, the OLF said even if there was economic growth in Ethiopia, it is useless without democratic institutions and rights. The organization said middle-income countries like Egypt and wealthy nations like Bahrain are witnessing a revolution because people want liberty and political freedom. “In the absence of human liberty, political and democratic rights of the people, talking about unity, collective development and peace is empty rhetoric and deception,” it argued.
On its radio program, the OLF lamented that the WEST has failed to listen to the voice of Ethiopian people. “Until Finfinne (Addis Ababa) becomes the next Tunis or Cairo, their ears will not listen,” it added. But the West will be forced to listen if the Ethiopian youth unite and remove the government: as “most of the superpower countries, the hitherto supporters and handlers of the tyrannical regimes, were forced to quickly abandon their darlings and side with the revolting people” in Egypt and Tunisia. OLF’s radio program broadcasts mainly in Afan Oromo. However, the OLF also broadcasts in Amharic as it is the other language used by many Oromos who are ethnically mixed or culturally assimilated with ethnic Amharas over the centuries. During its recent radio program, the OLF said there will never be long-term solution and change in the country “until Ethiopia’s two main ethnic groups unite.”
The OLF also pleaded the government’s supporters to be on the “right side of history.” It said “the sons and daughters of the peoples of Ethiopia, who are members of the dictatorial TPLF regime’s armed, police and security forces and who are serving, consciously or unconsciously, to prolong the reign of the dictatorial brutal regime, should realize that they are committing unforgettable and unforgivable crimes against their own people, and now is the time to correct your hitherto positions and stand with your people.”
In response to critics, the Meles government said the revolts that occurred in Egypt will not happen in Ethiopia. According to Meles, even though the economies in north Africa are bigger than in Ethiopia, his government has given hope and optimism for the youth with a faster growing economy and a lower cost of living.
However, the largest private English newspaper in Ethiopia, Addis Fortune, disagreed with the government’s claims and gave a strong warning in its latest editorial. According to the newspaper, there is a high level of unemployment and a rising cost of living in Ethiopia. While the newspaper praised the Meles government for building the nation’s public infrastructure, it said the ruling party still holds “a near complete control of the political infrastructure” and it must “build institutions and alternative leadership, before it becomes too late.”
Ethiopians need to learn from the North African countries of Tunisia and Egypt to set off what the OLF called a “liberation revolution.” It is “the obligation and historical responsibility of all the peoples in Ethiopia to struggle and revolt in unison against their common enemy- the TPLF (Meles) regime- and remove it from power” said the OLF.
The organization called the reports of economic growth in Ethiopia a “fiction” and the ethnic federalism system a “sham.” In its recent radio program, the OLF said even if there was economic growth in Ethiopia, it is useless without democratic institutions and rights. The organization said middle-income countries like Egypt and wealthy nations like Bahrain are witnessing a revolution because people want liberty and political freedom. “In the absence of human liberty, political and democratic rights of the people, talking about unity, collective development and peace is empty rhetoric and deception,” it argued.
On its radio program, the OLF lamented that the WEST has failed to listen to the voice of Ethiopian people. “Until Finfinne (Addis Ababa) becomes the next Tunis or Cairo, their ears will not listen,” it added. But the West will be forced to listen if the Ethiopian youth unite and remove the government: as “most of the superpower countries, the hitherto supporters and handlers of the tyrannical regimes, were forced to quickly abandon their darlings and side with the revolting people” in Egypt and Tunisia. OLF’s radio program broadcasts mainly in Afan Oromo. However, the OLF also broadcasts in Amharic as it is the other language used by many Oromos who are ethnically mixed or culturally assimilated with ethnic Amharas over the centuries. During its recent radio program, the OLF said there will never be long-term solution and change in the country “until Ethiopia’s two main ethnic groups unite.”
The OLF also pleaded the government’s supporters to be on the “right side of history.” It said “the sons and daughters of the peoples of Ethiopia, who are members of the dictatorial TPLF regime’s armed, police and security forces and who are serving, consciously or unconsciously, to prolong the reign of the dictatorial brutal regime, should realize that they are committing unforgettable and unforgivable crimes against their own people, and now is the time to correct your hitherto positions and stand with your people.”
In response to critics, the Meles government said the revolts that occurred in Egypt will not happen in Ethiopia. According to Meles, even though the economies in north Africa are bigger than in Ethiopia, his government has given hope and optimism for the youth with a faster growing economy and a lower cost of living.
However, the largest private English newspaper in Ethiopia, Addis Fortune, disagreed with the government’s claims and gave a strong warning in its latest editorial. According to the newspaper, there is a high level of unemployment and a rising cost of living in Ethiopia. While the newspaper praised the Meles government for building the nation’s public infrastructure, it said the ruling party still holds “a near complete control of the political infrastructure” and it must “build institutions and alternative leadership, before it becomes too late.”
“A society that is not expressing itself in a peaceful manner has deeply buried problems that explode when it is fitting” warned the newspaper.
Opposition officials in Ethiopia have contrasting views on revolution in Ethiopia. Vice president of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) opposition party and Medrek, Dr. Negasso Gidada said a revolution does not need a strong opposition party to succeed as long as the youth organize themselves locally. Some opposition officials however disputed the benefit of a revolution in Ethiopia. Former MP Lidetu Ayalew says Egypt now faces an uncertain future and revolutions do not always translate to democracy. “I do not think the changes we desire, change to a democratic system, can be attained via revolution,” claimed the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP) president Lidetu Ayalew.
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