[Pol.ethiopia] Fwd: WHO IS MELES? By Hailu Mengesha -- PART TWO

[Abdissa Daniel]

Part II,
Btw, the capital letter comment at the end of both parts is not mine. I am 
assuming that it is a comment of the Ethiopian Commentator.

AD
-----------------------------

>From: Enawgaw@aol.com
>To: abdissa1@hotmail.com
>Subject: WHO IS MELES?  By Hailu Mengesha -- PART TWO
>Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 20:21:25 EDT
>
>ETHIOPIAN COMMENTATOR
>http://www.ethiopiancommentator.com/whoismeles/
>
>Who is Meles?   (PART TWO )
>
>By Hailu Mengesha
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>----------------------
>Recently, a new feud, which is directly related to the war with Eritrea, 
>has
>split the TPLF into to main factions. The winning side, that is Meles, has
>outmaneuvered his companions and tries hard to bring back the pre-war
>status-quo-ante. The demise of the TPLF has inadvertently rendered Tigray
>politically inconsequential. Because his enemies have considerable 
>following
>in Tigray, Meles has does not trust Tigray as being trustworthy. His
>reservation in sending the Siye group to the dungeon demonstrates that 
>Tigray
>is a delicate matter that can go either way. In all intent and purpose, the
>political viability of Tigray is a thing of the past. Tigray is the net 
>loser
>in the equation of power; Siye and company are symptomatic to that effect.
>Tigray, or for that matter, any nationality cannot monopolize power and 
>rule
>over the rest of the country. The demise of the TPLF is demonstrative of 
>this
>fact. As long as Addis Abeba remains the center of capital accumulation,
>Mekele has no chance in the game. The provinces can only fight Addis in the
>old Maoist fashioned, like TPLF, once they assume power, Addis has the 
>global
>market behind it to transform the barbarians into civilized citizens. Addis
>has the power to corrupt, the power of all the vices that are inherent in
>conspicuous consumption. The TPLF leadership, despite all of their military
>hardware and gadget of bellicosity, has unconditionally surrendered to the
>glitters of Addis. Die hard and tough minded fighting spirits were
>systematically emasculated and turned into shamefully parasitic 
>bloodsuckers.
>Addis Abeba does not fight peasants in the battle field simply because it
>looses the contest. Addis bribes its rulers and make them fight against 
>each
>other. Once Tigray is unceremoniously eliminated from the game, Meles has 
>to
>find a power base dependable enough to maintain his power. Apparently, 
>after
>everything is said and done, the only viable force in existence to uphold
>Meles' agenda in none other than Gashe Issayas. Don't forget Meles has an
>unqualified distaste for Ethiopia and unequalled hate of the so-called
>Amhara. If Tigray is no longer part of his arsenal, the only remaining 
>locus
>of support is Eritrea. Apparently, as we speak high level talks are
>undergoing between the two sides under the auspices of U.S. blessing. 
>Meles's
>telegraphic transmutation from being the self-proclaimed guardian of the 
>most
>destitute peasantry in the world, Wyanay Tigray, to that of the most loyal
>regional ally of the most powerful country (the U.S.) speaks volume about 
>the
>nature of this particular individual. Yesterday's dogmatism, accentuated by
>Marxist-Leninist doctrine and articulated on the back of Tigray's 
>peasantry,
>is replaced by wild pragmatism crystallized into outright theft and
>extortion. Pragmatism devoid of the rule of law and sense of purpose is
>nothing but old fashion opportunism at best or straightforward corruption 
>at
>worst. Meles has perfected the both into an art form. He is an opportunist 
>to
>the extent of succumbing to the dictates of metropolitan interests; he is
>also corrupt in hording unprecedented loot from the already hard-pressed
>citizens of Ethiopia. At this historical juncture several socio-historical
>dynamics are intersecting in determining the long-drawn-out evolution of
>Ethiopia. Unless the nation has a visionary leadership the future of the
>country is going to be in a dire strait. Apparently, Meles is not and 
>cannot
>be visionary; simply because the precondition to be a farsighted leader is 
>to
>believe in the vested interest of the polity. Meles does not believe in the
>well being of the country and his relationship with his official capacity 
>is
>riddled with all sorts of dissonance that is not intelligible to rational
>state of mind. The only sobering thing about the entire saga and gloomy
>scenario is the fact that historically constituted and formed norms cannot 
>be
>obliterated by a passing psychopath whatever his official capacity. First 
>of
>all, Meles, including Issayas, are unadulterated Abyssinians. Far from 
>being
>cosmopolitan agents they are utterly provincial to the extent of 
>instituting
>neo-feudal social relationship. Meles', TPLF, entire fight and resulting
>public policy and governing decree can only be understood from a feudal 
>point
>of reference. They deeply believe that Tigray should rule over all 
>Ethiopia,
>therefore a Tigrayan is in effect primus inter pares. As long as we remain 
>on
>power, the entire country and its people are functionally our serfs 
>subjected
>to all sorts of exploitation. During wartime, by giving lip service to
>national integrity, we can levy a huge army to fight the enemy. During
>peacetime we fabricate laws that are custom designed to undermine whoever
>stands on our way. The name of the game is to amass wealth, because land is
>no longer the principal means of production, we oblige ourselves to other
>means of gratifications. We become capitalists by rejecting capitalist 
>norms.
>We believe in the sanctity of law and order and in the values on civil
>society, as long as we promulgate the laws and fabricate the values. We 
>have
>the monopoly of violence; we also have the sole power to prescribe the cost
>of protection. Protection in Ethiopia is not from deviant elements; it is 
>in
>classic feudal fashion, protection means extortion. Now can Meles really
>navigate the impending storm that is forming in the Ethiopian political
>landscape? This is a question that many are trying to answer. Can he go 
>back
>to the days of abdicating sovereignty to Eritrea? Is he going to be
>successful in marginalizing the forces within Ethiopia without the 
>Stalinist
>political machinary in Tigray? While we contemplate the answers to these
>questions, we should also try to forge fundamental vision that is going to 
>be
>a navigational compass guiding our nation into safety; far away from the
>specter of Melessian pathology.
>==========================================================
>THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE ABOVE IS HAILU MENGESHA.  HE WAS ONE OF THE
>FOUNDING FATHERS OF TPLF ALONG WITH SEBHAT NEGA, AREGAWI BERHE, MELES 
>ZENAWI,
>SEYOUM MESFIN AND OTHERS.  AT PRESENT HAILU MENGESHA IS ONE OF THE LEADERS 
>OF
>TIGREAN ALLIANCE FOR NATIONAL DEMOCRACY (TAND), A SMALL PARTY OF TIGREAN
>DISSIDENTS IN DIASPORA.  HAILU MENGESHA, WHO IS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, NOW
>LIVES IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.  HE RECENTLY RETURNED FROM A SHORT VISIT 
>TO
>LONDON WHERE HE MET WITH ARGAWI BERHE AND OTHER TIGREAN DISSIDENTS.  HAILU
>TOLD SOME CLOSE CONFIDANTS IN LOS ANGELES THAT HIS MEETING WITH HIS
>COLLEAGUES IN LONDON WAS TO DISCUSS WAYS AND MEANS OF WORKING TOGETHER WITH
>THE SEYE ABRAHA GROUP TO OUT THE 'PALACE GROUP' LED BY MELES ZENAWI AND
>SEBHAT NEGA AND SEIZE POLITICAL POWER. HE FURTHER TOLD HIS CONFIDANTS THAT
>HIS GROUP HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH THE SEYE GROUP AND THAT BOTH
>GROUPS HAVE REACHED AN UNDERSTANDING TO WORK TOGETHER.
>

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