Ethiopia: exposed Eritrean bond with Al-queda overshadows CUD's trial

Less than two months after the Ethiopian and Somali governments defeated the radical Islamic Courts Union (ICU), more evidence proving Eritrean government's massive support for Al-queda emerged.** According to a recent United Nations report, Eritrean government helped and transported Al-Queda terrorist fighters back and forth for a training in Arab states and for a battle in Southern Somalia. The Eritrean governmen, together with a couple of Arab nations, also gave several weapons to the Al-Queda backed movement in Southern Somalia. In a related development, the Ethiopian CUD political party, already in jail for inciting violence and disobeying a ban on demonstration, now faces with fundamental problems. If the United Nations report shows anything, the CUD's engagement with Ethiopia's enemy of Eritrean government under the AFD treaty might harm their case on their February 19th trial in Ethiopia. Both of these developments seem to be related in more ways than one, particularly because of the recent United Nations report giving more evidence.

AFD or the Alliance for Freedom and Democracy was the most recently formed Ethiopian political party made and designed by the Eritrean government. It is mostly made up of the CUD, OLF, ONLF and the Eritrean EPPF organization. The alliance was made as a revenge tool because of the Eritrean government's hatred of the Ethiopian government. But not only this, AFD was also purposely created to destroy Ethiopia in the future because even if the AFD overthrows the Ethiopian government, since all members of AFD have opposite agendas, the alliances was perfectly designed by the Eritean government to create catastrophe and a massive civil war in the long-term. Despite all of this, what was a big surprise was the continuing alliance of the CUD party inside the AFD while the CUD was running in the Ethiopian 2005 elections. It was an alliance created by the same Eritrean government that supported Al-Queda against Ethiopia and an alliance that complicates the political problems in Ethiopia.

Ofcourse the only, the logical and the standard way of solving this problem and achieving democracy in Ethiopia is when the Tigrai-led EPRDF, Amhara-led CUD and the Oromo OLF find a way to hold a constructive dialogue and give the choice to the people. This dialogue or conference is the one all Ethiopians have been waiting for many decades; and it can be called the Grand Ethiopian Conference . It would be the conference where all and everything will be discussed and be challenged including the two extreme options of (1) breaking up the nation peacefully as well as (2) putting back a non-ethnic state names along with taking back the Eritrean-Ethiopia regions of the long Asseb coastline. Such a free discussion followed by a nationwide election would be the ultimate solution because nothing works better than what the people want. And ofcourse since literacy level is not high in Ethiopia, to avoid the consequences of "politics of emotion" imposed on the voters, this national election would need to take place only after every voter deeply knows every issue on the table. So no voter will be forced to vote based on ethnic "identity politics" (e.g. oromos only voting for OLF) and based on "politics of fear & emotion" (e.g. the revenge against Tigres game exploited by TPLF, and the emotional "Ethiopiawinit" game exploited by CUD to lure Amharas & mixed Showans.) Anything of less quality and less transparency will be fake and will be like adding more misery to the people of Ethiopia. For all the promises of CUD, it would actually reverse the progress made by the people to approach this Grand Ethiopian Conference because CUD already keeps a precondition of the non-negotiatable "Unity" and brings back old & sad memories of serfdom under Amhara dictatorship. Anyone bringing a pre-condition to such a grand dialogue would be cheating logic and ignoring history. So everyone would have to sacrifice something which means EPRDF shouldn't ask for OLF's disarmament as a pre-condition, OLF shouldn't ask for any political benefits using the "majority card" and CUD shouldn't say "Ethiopian unity can't be negotiated." This would be the best way for peace and democracy to work in Ethiopia. Otherwise, even a CUD government would be labeled an "Abbysinian colonizer" and by trying to fight off an OLF, ONLF attack; the Amhara-led CUD government would be twice as bad as the TPLF government in respecting human rights. Only a grand conference including all groups and parties will bring peace and democracy.

However, despite such a promising future of holding a grand conference, CUD have chosen violence as a way to solve our issues. After accepting the AFD, when CUD joined OLF without any settlement of their oppositing policies and when CUD joined the Ethiopian enemy Eritrean government, logic says it created a recipe for disaster. Still, no such disaster became any more clear to the world as much as it was this week when United Nations gave raw evidence of Eritrean government's significant assistance to Al-Queda to harm Ethiopia and destabilize East Africa. The same Eritrean government which the CUD allied with in the AFD now has its name permenantly imprinted in United Nations database as an Ethiopian enemy and an Al-Queda ally. So even when or even IF the Ethiopian people ignore and forgive CUD's involvement in the 2005 post-election riots, now, which group would CUD choose to ally with? The Eritrean government or Ethiopian government? Al-Queada or Ethiopia? Chaotic East Africa or peace & dialogue? Religious wars or moderation? Some CUD supporters think using the word "minority" and championing only the majority needs is the solution and thus some CUD supporters have created "ethnic gangs" claiming a team of Amhara & gurage or a team of Oromo & Amhara will defeat the minority Tigre etc. No political thinking can be more destructive than such use of ethnic gangs. So will CUD continue "ethnic gang" politics or practice inclusive politics? Fanaticism or tolerance? As the United Nations document shows there were many Arab nations including Egypt that armed and supported the Al-Queda fighters against Ethiopia. And everyone knows the game Egypt and Libya plays to cut apart Ethiopia and control east Africa via forming Islamic republic nations. It is no different from the game Eritrean government plays along via its AFD. So would CUD become the tool of Arab Nations in empowering radical Islam or would it oppose the ICU and its Eritrean financer? Would CUD choose the hopeful GEC /Grand Ethiopian Conference or an endless civil war? What will CUD choose is the big question of the year. If CUD chooses reasonably, then it can bring hope to all Ethiopians and persuade OLF to come to the table also. But CUD must remember that one can not have such a grand conference or dialogue without the freedom fighters of Tigrai (TPLF) as much as one can't possibly have such a conference without the freedom fighters of Oromos (OLF.) Unless CUD plans to create a fake Tigrai party just like the way EPRDF created the fake Oromo party (OPDO); any real discussion will have to involve every group. So the politics of exclusion which we are witnessing inside the Diaspora CUD will never work. Having even a billion CUD supporters demonstrating in front of the Whitehouse will not work. Including the CUD, the TPLF & the OLF as well as ALL smaller groups and parties will bring real and practical solutions in Ethiopia.

The card is still on CUD's hands. The February 19 trial will come and go, but the reputation of CUD can keep falling down the pit unless it disassociates itself from the enemies of Ethiopia and from the roadblocks against the GEC.

SOURCES

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east//article1400655.ece?Submitted=true

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21246402-31477,00.html

http://www.ethiopiafirst.com/news2006/Mar/Renegotiating-AFD.html