Cleaning Historical Distortions and saving Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Tribune

Editor’s Foreword

Some warnings age into prophecy. Dr Bekele Gessesse first set down the reflection that follows six years ago, in a season when Ethiopia’s fabric already seemed to be pulling apart at its ethnic seams. He offers it again now not as a scholar’s settled verdict but as a citizen’s plea — written, by his own account, in English so that it might travel beyond the reach of any single tongue or faction.

His thesis is unfashionable in some quarters and cherished in others: that Ethiopia is not the recent invention its detractors describe, but an ancient polity whose long survival is itself an argument for its keeping; that the historiography of secession — whether advanced by the ELF, the EPLF or the TPLF — was engineered less to liberate any people than to divide and to loot; and that the country’s true enemies have always been those, at home and abroad, who profit from its fragmentation.

Readers will not agree with all of it, and the Tribune does not ask them to. Several of Dr Gessesse’s historical claims — his reading of Anole, of the Eritrean referendum, of the wars that made and unmade the fronts — sit at the centre of disputes Ethiopian scholars have yet to settle. What is not in dispute is the urgency behind his appeal. He writes against the victimisation of citizens for their blood or their faith; for a strengthened transitional settlement, a revised constitution, independent institutions, and the protection of shared inheritance from the Renaissance Dam to the churches. He writes, in the end, for reconciliation.

We publish him in that spirit — as one voice in a national argument Ethiopia cannot afford to lose, and cannot afford to conduct in bad faith.

Democratic Ethiopia is better for everybody than a broken country of lasting internal wars over borders and resources.

The Reflection

Dr Bekele Gessesse

A reflection first offered six years ago to clear historical distortions and save our beloved country.

Preamble

Cessationist groups and their foreign supporters have been distorting Ethiopian history for a long time, for their own selfish interests. Ethiopia is a country that existed before most of the other countries in the world, including those of Europe and America. That distortion has brought untold suffering to our people. It has become an obstacle to sustainable economic progress. At the end of the day, no one has been a winner. We have all lost together. The problem is getting worse. Let us understand the whole of the issues, learn from past mistakes, and bring the democracy and harmony that will be conducive to peace and sustainable development. I do not pretend to have all the answers, but I have taken it as a personal duty to make a small contribution, based on knowledge, experience and concern for all. Currently Ethiopia is on fire. The reports we receive daily are alarming indeed — in terms of the damage inflicted on human lives (including the elderly and pregnant women) and on property, on the basis of ethnic background and religion. I therefore beg everyone to look at this in good faith and add their own contribution to peace and stability for all. I have chosen to write in English to reach as many people as possible, including those innocent Ethiopians who are denied the opportunity to speak the Amharic national language.

Some of the Major Distorted Facts

1.Shameless and cheap political groups try to tell us that Ethiopia is not more than 100–200 years old. The existence of Ethiopia goes back to thousands of years. Ethiopia existed before the Era of the Princes (Zemene Mesafint) of the mid-18th and 19th centuries. The Era of the Princes was known for lack of effective central government, as the country was divided within itself into various regions. Even then, the Palace of the King of Kings existed mainly in Gondar. Sustainable economic progress could not be made due to lack of peace and stability. Thus, the efforts to re-unify the country started with Emperor Theodros II and were completed by Emperor Menelik.

2.In the process of re-unification, there have been casualties (heavy in some places) in terms of lives. This is very sad indeed. This, however, is absolutely different from the historical fabrications of the EPLF/TPLF/EPRDF and their cadres such as Tesfaye Gebreab, with reference to places such as Anole (and women’s breasts).

3.Those casualties have been noticed during similar moves in the other countries of the world, especially Europe, even with worse incidences.

4.On the other hand, the re-formation of a strong central government has protected our entire people from the invading forces of such countries as Turkey, Portugal, England, France, Italy and even Egypt.

5.It also facilitated the introduction of services, especially in education, health, transport and communication, albeit to a limited extent.

6.The most serious crimes committed by the TPLF and cadres such as Tesfaye Gebreab include the distortion of Ethiopian history and the feeding of venom to the youth. They did not do this for the sake of the Oromo or other Ethiopian people, but for the purpose of divide-and-rule that would allow them to loot the national treasury. The current acts of genocide in many places are the direct consequence of such poisons.

7.The facts of the matter are completely different. The Amhara people have never been the enemies of other people. The same is true for the Oromo, Gurage and other people I knew in my life. They have never enjoyed more material benefits than the rest of the Ethiopian people under any of the past or present regimes. Please go to Northern Shoa, Gojjam, Wollo or Gondar to see the most severe social and economic hardships faced by those innocent citizens.

8.The same is true for the Ethiopian Orthodox religion. Ethiopia accepted the Muslims when they were sent by Prophet Mohammed for safety. Christians and Muslims lived side by side in perfect harmony and peaceful coexistence, sharing everything. The Amhara youth paid one of the highest sacrifices during the protracted struggles for changes in land tenureship, equality and democracy, as witnessed by political scientists such as Dr Merera Gudina (Ph.D. thesis).

9.Similar nasty and costly historical distortion was committed by the ELF (Eritrean Liberation Front) and the EPLF (Eritrean People’s Liberation Front). The area currently called Eritrea used to be an integral part of Ethiopia until the Battle of Adwa in 1896. Italy lost the war. Everybody thought she was leaving our country. However, she lingered until she lost again during the Second World War. After the war, the UN facilitated a referendum in which the overwhelming majority voted for federation with Ethiopia. However, the federation was unfortunately dissolved after about ten years, which led to political movements to restore that referendum — first led by the ELF, and eventually by the EPLF. The struggle finally turned into a secession movement for independence that brought the EPLF into fierce conflict with Ethiopian forces such as the EPRP (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party), which refused to accept the false colonial question. The movement received heavy backing from Ethiopia’s external historical enemies in the West as well as from Arab countries such as Syria, Iraq and Egypt.

10.In addition, the EPLF played a major role in the formation and development of the TPLF until they came to political power in 1991. As soon as it came to power, the TPLF-led regime in Ethiopia facilitated the fast independence of Eritrea for its own reasons — sole control of political and economic power in Ethiopia.

11.Be it the Westerners or the Arab countries, they did not support the secession movements for the sake of the Eritrean or other people. They did it for their own malicious reasons: to break up and weaken Ethiopia.

12.The manifestation of the dirty games is the fate of the Eritrean and Ethiopian people, who are left with conflict, poverty and displacement. I strongly believe that our Eritrean people could have benefited better through the restoration of the referendum and peaceful coexistence. The current tension between the Eritrean regime (and its ageing dictator) and the TPLF is also an absolute worry for the stability of those grossly endangered regions, who always beat war drums rather than drums of peace. It would have been much better had they worked on regional peace and cooperation on a golden principle of win–win rather than lose–lose. Sadly, they are still there today.

13.The TPLF came to political power in Ethiopia due to combined internal and external factors. Internally, it enjoyed the full support of the EPLF while the Derg regime was collapsing under the series of crimes it committed against the Ethiopian people — especially the youth, and later highly qualified and experienced generals — crimes that emanated from its initial utter arrogance in refusing the formation of an all-inclusive transitional government, and from leadership incompetence. Externally, it enjoyed the full backing of Ethiopia’s external historical enemies, as mentioned above, which terminated in the one-sided, shameful declaration of the ‘peace’ summit led by the American representative, Herman Cohen.

14.As mentioned above, Ethiopia is currently on worsening fire. The reports we receive on a daily basis are quite alarming, indeed, in terms of human life as well as damage to property. There are forces advocating the break-up of the nation. Following the retreat of the TPLF’s political domination, so many people had great hope for the better. We all thought that the EPRDF had learnt from its past mistakes. We hoped for peace and a smooth transition through an improved constitution, strengthened institutions and national reconciliation relevant to lasting peace and prosperity.

15.The EPLF and TPLF came to power in great harmony. Soon after, we saw an unimaginable degree of animosity that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands. The tension is still very high. They need to come to their senses and develop peace, cooperation and mutual development.

16.We have been living together and sharing everything in that beautiful country, Ethiopia, for such a very long time. We are thus duty-bound to care for each other. In any society there are myriad natural, logical and legal obligations that compel people to fulfil their basic individual and group responsibilities. There are obligations to develop shared values and create a healthy environment for all.

17.Our internal conflicts create fertile ground for the historical enemies of our country. Those who came for the scramble for Africa failed in Ethiopia due to our fierce resistance. They felt shame and disgrace. Thus, they have always held a historical grudge against us, forever working on their insane wish for our disintegration.

18.The required task at hand is clear and simple. Victimisation of innocent citizens on the grounds of race and religion should stop. We need to strengthen the Transitional Government. We shall revise and make the required changes to the National Constitution to safeguard our sovereignty, the equitable utilisation of our national wealth and the protection of our resources, including the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. There is a need to form and strengthen independent institutions. Let us bring national reconciliation and develop law-abiding, good citizenship.

19.Democratic Ethiopia is better for everybody than a broken country of lasting internal wars over borders and resources. If we have peace and democracy, the country has more than enough to feed its people. Given peace and stability, we have great potential to develop our nation on a sustainable basis, including higher education, international experience and dedication.

20.With the help of our Almighty God.

The views and factual claims expressed in this reflection are those of the author, Dr Bekele Gessesse, and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Ethiopian Tribune.