Seble Solomon 05/03/09
Over time Dr. Birhanu has gathered courage to come up with
a new strategy. His strategy is to sound like a philosopher. He
appeared in front of Ethiopians today and expressed that thought and that
thought alone is the essence of everything. To corroborate his statement
he cited the great writer Kibur Ato Kebede Mikael and read an excerpt from one
of his books. He also cited innovations that came to reality out of a
single idea. Since Dr. Birhanu is street smart, “arada” he did not
hesitate to mention how money is not everything since it is thought “hasab”
that creates money. He was insinuating that his followers should not worry
about money since they could recreate it again as long as they have thought
“hasab”. It was a sublime message to amass and collect money from his
followers. “tourist bela”.
Who would deny that everything emanates from a single
thought? Dr. Birhanu doesn’t realize that. He is trying to score in
every vantage point. What he failed to emphasize was that thought “hasab”
either builds or destroys. The two twin towers came down in New York because of a thought that destructive people
had and annihilated innocent individuals at work. A single thought by
Hitler killed 6 million Jews. Yes, thought does have two sides to it.
To convince his followers of this new plan he comes out with his new found
“philosophical” statements and blabbers some empty words
to get a score. I wonder if Dr. Birhanu meant to say conviction “alama”
instead of thought “hasab”. Well, if he is not clear how could we expect
a message of clarity from him?
He doesn’t stop there he continues to explain the
other factor that is key to his belief which is freedom “nesanet”. What
is interesting is that both thought and freedom are truisms. Thought
“hasab” and “nesanet” have now become his new mantra. Freedom is
the exercise of the power of choice and Dr. Birhanu is exercising his power of
choice to stand against the government of Ethiopia. It is his
prerogative. However, to undermine and create skirmish at the expense of
human lives is not the exercise of freedom, but infringes on the rights of
peaceful people. It is not an exercise of freedom to incite violence
amongst Ethiopians when there is ample evidence for legal opposition in the
country. But then again, for Dr. Birhanu it really does not matter.
It will not be him or his family that will be the victims of violence but
innocent Ethiopians.
To get a vantage point when all else has failed, Dr.
Birhanu pleads to his audience to convince them that the current government has
only days to live. He says it is empty, “kefo” with no
support. Dr. Birhanu also goes on to say how there will not be freedom
without the loss of lives. I wonder whose life he is talking about;
not his since he is enjoying his “government in exile”.
Only Ginbot 7 is equipped to lead the country and it is his
organization that will take the lead to bring all opposition groups
together. He doesn’t even consult the other opposition groups on what
needs to be done to create a United Front.
Through Dr. Birhanu’s great wisdom and leadership skills all other
organizations must adhere to him. They should accept his invitation not
as an equal but as subservient to Ginbot 7. What an insult and how
conceited on his part.
Dr. Birhanu likes to make a grand entrance and is seeking a
big comeback. He has left his old friends and has now given himself the
throne as the pioneer of thought, “hasab” and freedom “nesanet”. With his
master plan he is asking everyone to follow him. Dr. Sheberu sorry
Birhanu is a great demagogue. It was empty rhetoric words that he was
using to reassure his followers of his contempt towards Meles and
Bereket.
He was hiding behind amorphous words and did no explaining
on how democracy a la Ginbot style will manifest. There was no
acknowledgment to the schools, hospitals, clinics, colleges, universities,
roads, Gilgel Gibe 1, 2 and 3. He tells us to close our eyes to the
myriad development work that has gained employment to our people. Small
minded as he is, he has resorted to insulting Meles and Bereket and sounds like
he is vying for either Meles’ or Bereket’s position.
I thank Dr. Shibiru (Birhanu) for making his bankrupt way
of thinking transparent. It helps each one of see what competency and
commitment look like. It also shows us the downward spiral that some so
called opposition groups like Dr. Shibiru(Birhanu) have masterminded.
Most of all our clarity of purpose has been accentuated and it is crystal clear
that our new prosperous Ethiopia is under
construction and no demagogy is going to stop that momentum.