Bereket Simon's naked lies and propaganda
Thursday, September 6, 2012 _at_ 01:09 PM ed
By Abebe Gellaw
http://addisvoice.com/2012/09/bereket-simon%E2%80%99s-naked-lies-and-propaga
nda/
Former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died on July 14, 2012 at St. Luke
University Hospital, in Brussels, Belgium. This fact is no more news. But
even after the death of the former dictator, Bereket Simon, the chief
TPLF/EPRDF's lie factory and propagandist, had insisted that the former
tyrant was on holiday abroad and would be back before the Ethiopian New
Year. But Behind closed doors, Bereket and the other politically orphaned
cronies were at each other's throats fighting in a vicious power struggle,
which is still going on.
During the five-week long preparations to announce the death of Meles
Zenawi, Bereket Simon and his closest associates must have studied TV
footages of North Korea's globally ridiculed mass hysteria following the
death of Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il. The replication of this mass
hysteria, wailing, crying and at times fainting in front of cameras has only
proven to be live coverage of the maximum crisis that the infighting
TPLF-led junta is facing. When they continuously praise the former tyrant as
an irreplaceable demigod, they are, in a way, saying that none of them are
competent and worthy enough to fill his shoes.
After the preparations were completed, Bereket appeared from nowhere and
told the nation that the great leader's holiday was over. He died on August
20 from an "infection" at an undisclosed location, he informed the nation.
But EU officials and foreign media outlets only confirmed that Zenawi died
at St. Luke University Hospital, in Brussels, Belgium, which was accurately
reported by ESAT on 30th July.
Berket had also told us that EPRDF appointed Hailemariam Desalegn as acting
prime minister. Within 24 hours, this also turned out to be a lie confirming
once more that Bereket, who is now gravely depressed, is a master of
miscommunication. There are still unfinished palace conspiracies and
intrigues to be the next Meles or to control the group that will be in
charge of the fate of the nation. TPLF bigwigs believe that it is their
birthright to dominate the nation. That is quite obviously one of the
reasons why the decapitated regime declared such an unprecedented and
extended period of "national mourning" in order to buy more time to solve
the complex political calculus that only Meles could solve.
There was a five-week long preparation for the mass hysteria. Psychologists
that have studied mass hysteria usually describe it as an epidemic
psychogenic behavior where people collectively act irrationally. In North
Korea, propaganda plays a key role in generating mass hysteria.
When Kim Jong Il died last year, the state media and the communist party
were fully utilized to mobilize people across the country to publicly weep
and wail, and most importantly praise the Great Leader effusively. The mass
hysteria was broadcast repeatedly with propaganda extolling the "Great
Leader" generating an out-of-control show of grief. Sung-Yoon Lee, a
research fellow at the National Asia Research Program told CNN that state
control and coercion played a key factor in creating the hysteria. "There
are always people watching you. If you are not devastated by the news, you
may get in trouble," he said.
Ethiopia's 21-year long dictator has been described as the "Great Leader",
angel of love, father of Ethiopia, the light of Africa, pioneer of democracy
and freedom., just to mention a few among the long list of flourishing lies.
The cadres worked round the clock to tell everyone that they should come out
and grieve the death of "Comrade" Meles Zenawi. The lies and half-truths on
state media are still countless and his image has been excessively distorted
in order to create a new personality for the ruthless tyrant. But it all
turned out to be the futility and vanity of tyranny.
Bereket's strategy has been simple. He followed the rules of Hitler's
propaganda chief Joseph Gobbles, who once said: "If you tell a lie big
enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." In
a country like Ethiopia where the literacy rate still stands at 30%,
according to UNICEF, the intense propaganda campaign has certainly confused
some people and created an illusory atmosphere of national mourning.
People who have been caught listening to music or smiling during those times
of collective sadness, have been physically attacked. It is a bad beginning
for a post-Meles Ethiopia that craves for change. Some people were even
punished for not grieving. Journalist Reeyot Alemu serving jail terms for
committing acts of "terrorism" has reportedly been threatened and her
wellbeing was compromised for not showing grief and shedding tears for the
man who tortured and locked her up for doing her job. Another political
prisoner Zerihun Gebre-Egziabher, chairman of Ethiopian National Democratic
Party (ENDP) and who was also jailed for "terrorism", was physically
attacked for smiling.
The eulogy for Zenawi by local and foreign agents was largely fabricated.
The worst tribute to Meles Zenawi was written by none other than the
disgraced plagiarizer Tesfaye Habisso, former Ethiopian ambassador to South
Africa. On Tigraionline, he wrote: "Meles Zenawi was undoubtedly like the
Sun among the numberless equally big/large and shining stars in the galaxy.
He was so bright and so shining compared to the timid other stars sparsely
spread far and wide across the fathomless sky. The Sun Meles has set now,
it's all darkness; for the whole country, for the people, for the ruling
party and government. It will surely take some time before daylight
overcomes again." His unabashed statement, is quite telling why Tesfaye
remains to be a classless sycophant.
Another crazed scribbler of tyranny, a certain Adal Isaw, declared that he
started a religion called Meles Zenawi, which may be a deserving tribute to
a dictator who was surrounded himself with opportunists and worshipers.
"After many years of abandoning my religious belief," he declared on
tyranny's mouthpiece Aiaforum, "I am a born-again believer and my religion
is Meles Zenawi. I believe in Meles Zenawi and he is my religion from now on
till the end of my time. This I believe is not the result of stretching my
emotion." In fact, it is nothing but idiocy at its best.
In a shamefully orchestrated campaign of lies, deception and opportunism,
artistes, athletes, celebrities and gospel singers were also recruited to
extol the former dictator. In the process, many have already lost their own
self-respect and dignity. Neway Debebe, Fikre-Addis Nekatibeb, Madingo
Afework, Mezmur Yohannes and the lyricist Yilma Gebreab collaborated to
produce a song full of lies. The "song" shamelessly refers to the dictator
as the eternal Moses of Ethiopia, unifier and "elect of God". The famous
athletes Haile Gebreselassie, Derartu Tulu and Meseret Defar also joined the
public tear shedding drama and the comedy of extolling the man that brutally
and relentlessly abused Ethiopians for the last 21 years.
The worst gospel song ever heard in Ethiopia is probably the recently
released single by a certain Habtamu Shibiru. According to this "man of
God", darkness fell over Ethiopia just because Meles and his hand-picked
patriarch died. Though songs of praise are supposed to be reserved for
Almighty God, Shiberu feels the terror of losing the former tyrant and his
patriarch. While many see dawn of a new era, Shiberu tearfully tells us doom
and gloom. What is certain is that those who overacted in Bereke's Simon
drama and spin will only regret it when reality hits back and the hangover
is completely over.
Berket is currently one of the most dangerous loose cannons that need to be
handled with utmost care. He is behaving like his former boss and wants to
impose himself as a kingmaker. According to reliable sources, TPLF bigwigs
are bitterly against his manipulation and misuse of the media that he
controls to create an imaginary power for himself.
Now that the tents are dismantled, the ruling elite will face more maddening
crises that will continue to unravel the dictatorial regime. The only way to
move forward is to realistically address the grave ethnic, political,
economic, security and religious challenges that have fragmented and divided
our country. The hardliners like Bereket, who is reportedly plotting
political assassinations at home and abroad, need to give way to reformists
who are more capable and bold enough to address the grave problems facing
Ethiopia. Bereket's empty propaganda and naked lies have already backfired.
As a postscript, I may need to add the following. After my vocal protest
against Zenawi and call for freedom on May 18th, 2012 here in Washington DC,
I have been receiving vicious death threats. Some fanatic supporters of
TPLF's dictatorship have also been spreading all sorts of venomous innuendos
and threats, which are being dealt with by the FBI. It should be known that
I am fully protected by the Constitution and Government of the United
States. The effort of some people to import tyranny to this land of freedom
is futile and does not scare anyone. I cannot afford to be silenced.
Ethiopia is at the threshold of dramatic, drastic and radical changes. We
need to be prepared for change and seize on the opportunities as well as
challenges fearlessly. Resistance to change must be resisted and defeated.
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Received on Thu Sep 06 2012 - 14:04:15 EDT
