Ethiopia and TPLF’s meddling in Somalia
By Redeem Ethiopia*
July 31, 2006 — It is now obvious to all objective observers that Ethiopia has been hijacked by a group of thugs who will stop at nothing to distract Ethiopians and the international community from the call for participation in governance. Furthermore, the fact that the TPLF/EPRDF has transformed itself into a ‘Christian force against Muslim fundamentalists’ is essentially equivalent to planting a time bomb without an ‘off’ switch in Ethiopia’s womb.
The party’s lack of far sightedness has been exhibited on many occasions. Its domestic policies have completely failed and Ethiopia can safely be called a failing state that needs immediate salvation. This salvation is unlikely to arrive while its governing elite imprison leaders who have been elected to office, persecute students who express discontent and most dangerously enter a religious war that most Ethiopians are uncomfortable with.
The previous Ethiopian-Somali conflicts were much more about colonial legacy than they were religious. Attempting to give the historical bumpy relationship between the two countries a religious tone is the first defeat for Ethiopia, as it is the country with a population that is half Christian and half Muslim. Just as the international community was intimidated into supporting the TPLF by threats of destroying Ethiopia, the party is now threatening the west, and particularly the US, with the radicalization of Somalia by launching an invasion of that country contrary to the wishes of the Ethiopian and Somali people.
Ethiopia had governments and armies that were far larger and more legitimate during the previous wars with Somalia but its leaders never attempted to invade Somalia even when the power balance was in their favor. A hugely unpopular ruling party today has decided to invade a country without a government in the hopes of creating instability in the region as a reminder to all that money should not stop flowing into its coffers.
US complicity in this will surely backfire by assuring its lose of influence in the region upon the sure to come departure of the TPLF. As many seasoned US diplomats have recently been reminding us, the US has already paid a heavy price by allying itself with a party instead of a country. It was led into the Somali conflict on the losing side more recently and has drawn the intervention of all those who wish to harm US interests by TPLF’s self serving declarations of terrorist activities in Somalia.
Further progress in the direction of financing and supporting Ethiopia’s illegitimate rulers will inevitably initiate a regional revolution that can not serve the interests of either the local inhabitants or international stakeholders. It is time to put an end to the desperate and aimless adventures of Ethiopia’s thuggish rulers by allowing the elected leaders of Ethiopia to take office and starting a reconciliation period. This would relieve the present tension in Somalia as well while that country starts to select its own governance system and rulers. At the end of the day that is what Democracy really means and the horn is calling for it.
* Redeem Ethiopia, a group of concerned Ethiopians based in the USA. they have a blog on Ethiopiawww.redeemethiopia.blogspot.com. They can be reached [email protected]