Challenging deals with renegades and Zenawi

By Aklilu Demissie

July 2, 2007 — It is unfortunate to see the powerful theme of liberating the land from tyranny gets bogged down by a piece meal, calculated and strategically put snares by Zenawi. How could the Formidable Diaspora across the globe reduce itself and the struggle just to fighting renegade elements?
Those individuals who have no power base [the Renegades] might have got the Diaspora’s coffers and some websites of disinformation as their tools of wreaking havoc on the struggle.

The Formidable Diaspora has lead the struggle when its leaders fell victim to Zenawi’s dungeons. Their relentless effort has paid off in bringing the horrendous crimes against humanity out to the world. It has made the brutal regime retreat.

There be no surprise if some prominent figures have fell victim and become convinced by think- thanks of different color that shying away from the Formidable Diaspora to be also a solution in freeing jailed leaders.

The point to realize is that a calculated game of snatching and weakening is going on behind the scene by many paid elements who are emphasizing that you can change a regime like that of Meles by sitting and bending to his brutal divide and rule machination.

The Formidable Diaspora has to have a powerful vision. A vision that doesn’t reel and faint from a sharp upper cut jab to the jaw whenever something is posted on websites. There is no need to cry over lost finances. The struggle has effectively continued without it. Let the renegades enjoy the sweat and blood of the hard working Diaspora for now.

The daunting task should focus on these kinds of people never get a foot hold so that they would not stifle the struggle again. It is difficult to fathom why some elements in the Formidable Diaspora seem convinced that they should work with renegade elements. The wits of the Formidable Diaspora have been tested many times. While the achievements still astoundingly surpass the manageable weaknesses, falling and reeling from every hit from messengers of complex, yet banal moves in the name of “negotiation” is becoming a challenge. It should be dealt effectively before it saps the strength and achievements already gained.

Few were suspicious from the outset that the messengers to have come with a formulated agenda. It was just to get a ground for the humiliated renegades to have an equal footing with the Formidable Diaspora. Then, post a tattered peace of letter on a website and try disintegrate Kinijit International and its powerful Chapters by conniving with respectable and influential people in an attempt to establish credibility and in so doing splintering and crippling the struggle.

The Formidable Diaspora should continue its struggle with out even giving a full ear to these mean types of subterfuges. It should not have gone to a head line .It could have been contained by a single letter of disapproval. Responding to every contemptible attempt of derailing the struggle would question the maturity of the leadership.

Victorious freedom struggles had never hesitated amputating their own gangrenous appendages which could have had brought their untimely demise.

The Alliance of Formidable Diaspora [henceforth AFD in this article] should be imbibed with long term political strategy. If that is not the case, it would always be in a classroom trying to focus and decipher how to come out of simple stumbles set by Zenawi.

The other point is that, the struggle for liberation is not a bed of roses. In the AFD, particularly Kinijit international with its powerful Chapters across the world shouldn’t be bothered about the evil tricks of the regime for which it is patented for. Why should there be a cry of fowl play of being attacked and deceived in an evil way? Some elements in the Diaspora want to splinter the struggle, set and extended by the regime’s hirelings and non Ethiopian colored advisors to the regime. It is wise to be content with the political decency and maturity of Kinijit as an assailable. But crying over evil play on Kinjit’s cause whenever a hell of unsophisticated lies and gossip surface is something which should be avoided by all means. It was even a pity to see how many spent time conferring on a bankrupt bamboo head Karaoke singer of no political value.

The regime always reflects to the West of inadequacies of leadership on the Diaspora’s circle, quoting splintering and fracturing. Many do know there is no splintering. If there is splintering it is the responsibility of Kinijit International and its powerful Chapters for going the extra mile in pampering and begging renegade gangrenous elements. Those [renegades] elements have dipped their hands deep in the cookie jar abandoning the fight for freedom long ago. Even if they are brought back, the struggle will go back simply to concentrating auditing finances.

The crucial and pivotal struggle of liberating the land once again almost screeched to nearly a halt from the news of possible release of jailed political leaders who should not have been in jail in the first place. It is obvious that Zenawi can trick his opponents play only to his terms and pour cold water on attempts of freeing the land from tyranny. The physical and psychological torments in despicable dungeons are what repulses us and we don’t want our leaders stay there for a second longer.
It is common knowledge that the tyrant prances in front of local and international media but behind the doors he begs every possible influence to squash his opponents.
The road to freedom won’t be stifled whether Tom Lantos or Donald Payne gets a bill passed in the US Senate. It will be a commendable, hard fought land mark and achievement for the AFD. But that won’t end the struggle then and there even if HR 2003 is implemented or floats forever.

The regime now has perfectly realized that jailing and killing pays political dividends whatever perverse the execution is. On our side emotions seem to be leading us to accepting serfdom. Naive as it is, some even believed giving a break to Zenawi could have secured the release of jailed leaders. Alas! Give a break to Zenawi who is scorching the land day in and day out?! The entire nation is in jail.

Setting oneself for jubilation without getting the entire land liberated from neo colonial type ethnic megalomaniacs is pathetically forgetting what freedom, liberation, democracy, and the right to live free are all about. One elderly Somali man put the paradox of Somali Independence day of July
1st 2007as, ”I do not think this day deserves commemoration, it is a dark day. The colonialists we fought for our independence, like Ethiopia, are again colonizing us and have troops on our soil.” Of course, we Ethiopians are not colonialists, nor our troops are there at the will of the Ethiopian people. But we are also fighting an entrenched brutal regime of colonial proportion.

Even for the enlightened, playing only to the despot’s card game may put the struggle in jeopardy. How could liberation be dictated by tyrants?
And for the AFD tackling what is about to unfold ahead with a political genius is at no time more detrimental than now.

What would be the direction when our leaders are freed and some give a blessing to the renegade elements as leaders of the struggle in the Diaspora? What if some retire from the struggle handing over the torch of freedom and struggle? Will there be panic and running in disarray? Or will there be political maturity and composure?

The land will be free from tyranny and the time is near and every body will ask at victory day, “… how come it took us long?!”

The Formidable Diaspora knows its power and should use it effectively. As Nelson Mandela summed it up, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate…but that we are powerful beyond measure.”
Pray what is happening in Ethiopia does not shorten the life of Nelson Mandela!

* The author is based in the USA. He can be reached at [email protected]