“The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first” Thomas Jefferson
By Teshome Debalke
September 5, 2018
Ever since the Ethiopian grassroot movement declared enough of the 27-years old TPLF Mafia led regime and propelled the new Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed to power within the ruling party to clean up the mess, no one fully understood the magnitude of divisions, atrocities, rights violation and corruptions inflected up on the people of Ethiopia.
The new PM forgiveness plea to Ethiopians on behalf of his party belligerent warlords’ unspeakable crime of and with promise to unite Ethiopians for better times to come made him a hero among ordinary Ethiopians, gullible among political opportunists and a treat among TPLF warlords and surrogates that control the political, social and economical means of Ethiopia — vowing to cause more havoc if their crimes are further exposed or prevented from committing more crimes to preserve the status qua.
Therefore, it isn’t by accident TPLF warlords are behaving like drunken sailors to reject being forgiven for their past crimes and the PM’s call for Ethiopians unity. After all, when a make-believe political party very manifesto and existence depended on ethnic disunity and crime against the people of Ethiopia, no wonder why ‘party’ bosses behaving as if the world ended.
Trapped in their ethnic apartheid cage with no options but to surrender for the will of the people, their absurd argument TPLF is legitimate political party is juvenile at best or desperate at worst not to accept the reality and dismantle a Mafia organization masquerading as a sole political party that represent Ethiopians in make-believe ethnic Tigray Region of the imaginary Federal Revolutionary Democratic Apartheid regime of Ethiopia designed and implemented at gun point by TPLF warlords themselves.
Take for instance TPLF Mafia new boss and make-believe Federal Minster of Communication and Technology Debretsion Gebremichael that spent his entire adult life in an ethnic apartheid fairyland of creating Tigray Empire out of the ashes of Ethiopia. Lately, in defiance of the PM of his own party; he is crying wolf in the middle of the government reform to end TPLF hegemony and impunity against the people of Ethiopia. Add his stateless partner Berket Simon that had been masquerading as top official of the Federal and ‘Amhara Region’ for 27 long years crying innocent of his crimes to illustrate how TPLF warlords and their surrogates are out of touch to the reality facing them in a nation they hate to love and hate again.
But, nothing illustrates the political reality of Ethiopia better than dysfunctional political elites in the free world legitimizing the old Jim Crow era of the West they despise for themselves on the people of Ethiopia by remote control. It further illustrates, they are not free thinkers either because they are stupid or narcissists.
That is why they live in alternative reality out of necessity not to accept the truth about themselves at the expenses of the people of Ethiopia.
Narcissist are control freaks. ‘If they can no longer control you, they try to control how other see you’. And, unstrained by rule of law and truth-telling; they are clear and emanate danger for society.
But, stupid people have no virtue nor can they be restrained by law. Therefore, they effective tools for narcissist to cause havoc.
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” wrote the legendary 19th century American humorist and writer Mark Twain to illustrate one cannot argue with people who parrot unoriginal argument.
The absence of law-and-order and truth-telling to referee contemporary political engagement is safe heaven to narcissist to take hold of the political space accompanied by stupid followers.
No one is a classic example of a narcissist of the highest order than the late TPLF Chairman Melse Zenawi and stupid follower than the Former PM Halimariam D. Surprisingly, Melse was honest enough to tell them in public; the qualification to serve him is stupidity but, they joined in anyways.
One little narcissistic and obscure crime boss accompanied by injudicious foot soldiers change the course of Ethiopian history by creating an ethnic Mafia organization and an ethnic apartheid state that served him well. Ironically, the 27 years old Mafia state built on a rotten foundation and terror that lasted three more years after his death and crumbled in a few months by one ingenious man with pen and paper waving unity flag to change the course of history in the opposite direction.
For many Ethiopians that recognize TPLF as criminal organization way before it is expedient to say so; nothing the warlords nor their foot soldiers or opportunists do or say for or against the people of Ethiopia and the new PM that bravely took responsibility for the crimes surprise us. After all, there is no member of TPLF warlord that accepted he or she has done any wrong but, justly every small-and-big crime he or she committed against the people of Ethiopia or disappear in a tin air.
But, what make TPLF Mafia unique is, its warlords insist it is a political party of an ethnic Region in a Federal Revolutionary Democratic Apartheid State with its own army of assassins, extortionist and propagandist and cadres of make-believe investors, businessmen and philanthropists unlike any political party of any nation in the world, thanks to the international community complicity to vehemently refused to accept; they were propping up a self-describe ethnic Mafia organization as a political party until it was left bare necked about three years ago by the grassroots movement.
The most prominent international apologists among many that came out in public were non other than President Barak Obama, the first African-American U.S. President that endorsed TPLF Mafia led regime as ‘democratically elected’ political party of Ethiopia and Bill Gates, the richest American philanthropist that certified the same regime as an example of good governance. With that kind of endorsement from the most powerful political and business figures of the world, blaming dimwitted TPLF Mafia warlords and foot soldiers felling they are the best thing that happened to the people of Ethiopia ever is a misnomer.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say, the problem in Ethiopia today is directly linked with the world powerhouses colluding with small-time ethnic Mafia posed as a political party. Not that it is a new phenomenon in the world but, in the last decade or so it is done in public with all kinds of justification — from fighting international terrorism, investing in the emerging markets and helping the poor leading the excuses.
The complex question of why they do it with impunity remain unanswered as millions of more people continue to suffer because of their decisions to accept a Mafia as legitimate political party.
Interestingly, when the new PM Abiy striped TPLF Mafia warlords’ justification for their two decade of crime spree against the people of Ethiopia and beyond, the indifference the international community or not stepping up from taking any responsibility for the crises speaks volumes.
Therefore, TPLF warlords and operatives are left free to manufacture new internal terrorists to remain relevant in the eyes of their international sponsors. As the result, 1000s of more death and millions more displacement of Ethiopians continued under their nose as the new PM Abiy’s reform effort try to keep up sorting out 27 years-old mess they left behind.
In that context is where the warlords are crying for recognition without surrendering for the rule of law and the reform effort. Unfortunately, Ethiopians generous forgive-forget gesture to move on became another opportunity to re-poison Ethiopians unprecedented show of unity to end TPLF Mafioso jungle law and impunity.
Take for instance the latest terrorist act instigated by TPLF Mafia surrogate Ali Abi, a warlord turned President of what is now referred as Somali Region of Apartheid Ethiopia. The day laborer with elementary education recruited to do TPLF’s bidding as late Zenawi told us, Ali instigated religious conflict out of TPLF playbook when ethnic conflicts among Ethiopians failed miserably to work as it was designed.
Fortunately, TPLF’s henchman Ali and his accomplices were jailed and waiting for their TPLF bosses to join them soon or run for their lives as many already did.
In that regard, despite threat of more terror on the people and assassination PM Abiy encountered; he rose to occasion not to be dragged into the rule of the jungle of the warlords as they wanted. It is the right and admirable step to stick with the rule of law — if only the intellectual elites step up to the plate to help restrain their dysfunctional peers making mockery of the rule of law and help in the PM’s effort to get them out of the jungle to respect the rule of law before they do more damaged.
Unfortunately, the self-described Tigray intellectuals’ elites must be comfortable with the rule of the jungle of Woyane not to restrain their dysfunctional peers making mockery of the rule of law. It is not clear whether they are waiting for PM Abiy to rescue them from TPLF Mafia warlords or the warlords to rescue them from the PM reform. Regardless, ‘silence in the face of evil itself is evil’.
The recent TPLF Mafia warlords instigated make-believe demonstration in Mekele against PM Abiy’s reform as embarrassing as it was illustrate; the warlords won’t give up on their original plan of instigating Oromo-Amhara conflict to stay alive.
The die-hard Mafia warlords’ audacity to claim; TPLF is the sole party ordained to rule Ethiopians in the manufactured Apartheid Region of Tigray and around the world not only an insult of the highest order but, desperate to stay alive by all the means necessary.
Give an inch to ethnic Mafia warlords, there is no limit how far they will extend the rule of jungle to claim people are property and, soon to buy and sell if it didn’t happen already.
But, one thing is becoming clearer than ever before. The PM can’t bring about law-and-order until the intellectual elites collectively and publicly demand their dysfunctional peers to abandon the rule of the jungle they operate under for far too long. After all, TPLF Mafia warlords are counting on the rule of the jungle to remain intact to undermine PM Abiy reform effort thus, the struggle itself.
There is no explanation why so many contemporary intellectual elites appeared not to tell the difference between the rule of law and the rule of the jungle. Therefore, if the elites, particularly in the free world want to help PM Abiy achieve his reform as they claim; nothing they can do serve him better than exposing their dysfunctional peers that operate under the jungle law, especially Media operators that promote it daily.
The time has come every elite, including PM Abiy himself recognize; entertaining to sustain parts or whole of the rule of the jungle TPLF warlords imposed on the people of Ethiopia is as good as abandoning the people’s struggle for predators and opportunists to come.
‘The cart before the horse’ game dysfunctional elites played for political, social and economic convenience for far too long must end. Nothing worth comes before the establishment of the rule of law supreme as the PM declared. Therefore, nothing the elites can offer worth the people of Ethiopia nor the PM’s reform effort than abandoning the rule of the jungle and surrendering for the rule of law. So far, the former appears to dominate the public stage to frustrate the people and the PM’s reform.
At the meantime, Media operators parsing or pestering the PM as oppose the dysfunctional elites surrounding him like hyenas waiting for the sunset are as bad if not worse than TPLF warlords hiding in Mekele contemplating to eat him for dinner. Among the annoying make-believe ‘Medias’ hounding the PM to sustain the jungle law are non other than the same TPLF operatives run Walta, Fana, EBS and Addis TV to mention the few. Where are the old good Ethiopian Journalists’ Association members when we need them most to sort out the good, the bad and the ugly?
In a nation under TPLF apartheid of 27 years, make-believe Media that overwhelmed the airwaves and the cyberspace with propaganda to reflect the rule of the jungle is one thing and expected. But, to ignore them all together in hope they will somehow will embrace the rule of law is like expecting TPLF warlords to abandon their Mafia operations voluntarily. It isn’t going to happen.
Therefore, as reforming the rule of the jungle to end injustice starts with cleaning up the kangaroo courts infested with make-believe judges, cleaning up make-believe Medias infested with make-believe journalists to reinforce alternative reality is unavoidable.
It is not by coincidence when the Nazi Propaganda Minster Joseph Goebbels said, “let me control the Media and I will turn any nation into a herd of pigs”. The statement from a war criminal that instigated one of the worst genocide of the 20th century may sound tasteless to hear seven decades later in the middle of 21st century Information Technology. But, the reality is, the Media landscape of apartheid Ethiopia that was designed by TPLF warlords to turn the nation into herd of sheep is real, thanks to the Former Federal Propaganda Minster Berket Simon handpicked by the late PM Melse Zenawi.
The apartheid propaganda project worked to some degree in most of Ethiopia but, not enough to save Woyane but, in Tigray Region where the Former TPLF Propaganda Head and the now Chairman of TPLF Debretsion Gebremichael began his propaganda career as a Founder of Dimtsi Woyane Radio in the early 70s did do the job as it was intended.
Now back to the Apartheid Region of Tigray where he started to undermine Ethiopians and Ethiopia all over again as well as the new PM’s reform efforts, he declared; Ethiopians in manufactured Tigray Region under his control are TPLF’s herds of sheep he groomed to use-and-abuse against the rest of Ethiopians – a rather bizarre claim for a Mafia boss posed as Chairman of a make-believe ethnic political party member of ‘Federal’ Ethiopia.
As strange as TPLF Tigray Mafia warlords are, they are not alone. Every dysfunctional political elite claims one group of Ethiopians or another of his choice are herd of sheep to use-and-abuse for his political, social and economic agenda – the price Ethiopians paid by contemporary political elites instigated ethnic, class and religious divide rapped by the rule of the jungle.
They say; ‘it takes two to tango’. Therefore, as TPLF Mafia warlords cry out for anyone to tango with from any ethnic apartheid region they successfully created under Apartheid Constitution, we should remind ourselves what the Founding Father of America and the First President Thomas Jefferson said;
“The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.”
The problem with TPLF warlords is, they believe government is a legal cover for political, social and economic crime. Therefore, running the government, corporations, banks, Medias, military and everything in between at the same time is legitimate and ‘constitutional’.
Thus, by default; they don’t accept they are running criminal enterprise as the rest of Ethiopians believe and, feel victims of the PM reform effort as they continue to protest, threaten and terrorize their way out hiding behind Ethiopians in Tigray.
Quite frankly, I don’t know how Prime Minster Abiy can convince well-entrenched Mafia party members that won’t even acknowledge decades of crimes let alone surrender for the rule of law and the will of the people of Ethiopia.
But, I do know; TPLF warlords and their surrogates in-and-out of the country will continue to be danger for the unity, safety and security of the people of Ethiopia as they acknowledged as recently as this week when they incriminate the entire Ethiopians in Tigray they claim to represent as accomplices of their crimes just because PM Abiy rightly said; TPLF doesn’t represent them in their free will.
When a corrupt TPLF warlord with a PhD claims he represent the entire people of a Region by 100% and willing to terrorize the entire population of the nation, who is to blame? If you ask me, I will say his intellectual enables.
The people of Ethiopia showed they are way too civilized to deserve any part of TPLF warlords’ usual jungle law of incrementing the whole for the alleged crimes of the few to remain in the body politics of Ethiopia. Nor, our people have time to entertain the weekly temper tantrum of warlords to sustain the jungle law and avoid responsibility for their continued crimes as we are witnessing.
At the meantime, Ethiopians shouldn’t tolerate opportunist elites bargaining their freedom and rights away in the shadow of the belligerent warlords.
The PM’s reform would be better served if genuine supporters focus on demanding transparency starting from dysfunctional elites that carried TPLF Mafia’s water all these years to surrender for the rule of law or else.
After all, the struggle is all about the voiceless people of Ethiopia held hostage; not to sing kumbaya with Woyane warlords or Citizens of Convenient that care less one way or another as long as they get what they want.
