Part II Response regarding Jawar Mohammed

Dear brother Kuchuye Getachew Reda www.Ethiopiansemay.blogspot.com 04/26/10 Part II Response regarding Jawar Mohammed

Thanks for your response to my commentary on your commentary regarding the Stanford graduate young Oromo nationalist Jawar Mohammed. Forgive me to response to you with my broken English grammar where I am not good at. I did this, because you repose was written in English to my earlier Amharic email I sent you. Therefore, bear with me and understand the general concept that I am making argument regarding brother Jawar. You see, I agree with Jawar in his peaceful resistance method to remove a repressive TPLF government in Ethiopia. He is a bright young man. I can work and communicate with him friendly, brotherly and easily than with the other Oromo nationalists that I knew and argue through the internet media so far. Some OLF diehard seems me as “an enemy” for challenging their criminal organization. Jawar might not like me to label OLF as criminal organization, because he believed OLF is the vanguard of the Oromo people. Not only Jawar respect these gangs no different than the TPLF in its record for human abuse and tyrannical behavior …in many ways, but also he thinks OLF done superb job for (“Just 35 years ago a majority of “Ethiopians” never acknowledged that a people called the “Oromo” lived in the greater part of Ethiopia, and that it constitutes of humans with certain dignities and inalienable rights. Thanks to the Oromo nationalists and the Ethiopian student movement, and as well as the sacrifices made by the Left, now the “Gimatam Galla” is accepted as a dignified “Oromo”.) Though, he is made to believe by the OLF gangs that “majority of Ethiopians” never acknowledge that the Oromo as human lived in the greater part of Ethiopia; who he thinks “majority Ethiopians” called Oromo as “Gimatam Galla”- (regardless he seemed to forgetting each Oromo different tribes also killed/dominate/insult/degraded/manipulated/exploit repressed against each other through out history) and he also think the word “Galla” is an insult (which by the way none including Jawar finds Galla in any historical document referred as insult)- Only the group (the left- that includes OLF) that Jawar thank for switching the former name “Galla” to the former name Oromo switching for no reason but for political manipulation. (The Eritreans referred us the Tigrayans as “Agame”- but, none of us /individuals/Tigrayan educated sectors or organization (civic or political) in Tigray demanded switching names. Because no name change will spare any racist to call any one from calling him in the name that it made him irritated. It is simply a psychological and political manipulation of society by the decadent receptionist elite. Not only Jawar believe the “majority Ethiopians insult the Ormo as Gimatam Galla”, unfortunately Jawar also thanks OLF and the like nationalists for liberating the Oromo people to “write” with “their language”. The “writing method” of the Ormomo language he is talking about and referring it as “Theirs” is “Latin”. And he is greatly happy with that for abandoning the Geez font which is the Ethiopian (that includes the Ormo as well) own font which Africa (Jawar also) should have promote to be used for their written language. How could writing in Latin be the gate to civilization? There are many Latin American and other countries as well whose writing is based in Latin who is the worst illiterate countries among the world. Look at the African countries and Latino/Hispanic in America whose writing font is Latin what they achived. Even writing or speaking English doesn’t make one literate. There are many (millions) of Americans who are illiterate regardless they speak English or write in Latin based English. It is unfortunate; such a bright young man can fall to such trap. Dear Kuchieye:- Therefore, as I already said it to you earlier on my response to you and to my readers posted on my web log and elsewhere Jawar is a young bright fellow and a very friendly when you meet him in person I might add. But, the issue is not that Jawar is young and educated. The issue is not that the Ethiopian population is majority at young age or not (based on your statistic) that matters. I am not looking with such criteria at any one be it young or elderly, educated or experienced to lead/build a nation with such criteria (if age maters to lead politics- majority young Ethiopians are in dire situation – majority of them are not mature to know who they are). I am looking at any citizen individual or in a collective force that can resuscitate the life of the dying nation with a leadership ability that is wholly escape from narrow nationalism sentiment. I am looking at a citizen who has the ability to save the currently dying nation from facing similar disaster like the sacking and the tragic fall of the Axumite Empire. I say this, because majority of the elite/educated sector is putting too much pollution to humanity& democracy by focusing ethnic issue as a prime agenda. We have to follow what brother Obang Metho said “Humanity before ethnicity”! Jawar thinks Ormo never ruled Ethiopia or never been in the helms of the political or governmental helms in history. Jawar reads like this “The Oromo are only a demographic majority but has always been a political and social minority”. You and I know that it was not “always” true. The Oromo as you know (according to the recorded history) in different time in the past history had exercised democracy of that time called “Luba”; - unfortunately, the different Oromos in/near Gibe river had also established a very tyrannical administrative system. Generally speaking who are the Oromo who are the rest calling “dominants? In the highest helm of power all rulers in Ethiopia had Oromo blood by birth or by marriage linkage. There were Oromo in power through out. If there was/is responsible group for Jawar’s charge (Jawar is charging “majority Ethiopian population” (majority as we know is the Ethiopian peasant who live in village) not the peasant majority of Ethiopian people, but “government elite /that include many Ormo who shared power in the past or present. Jawar himself and his like young generations are too much in the business of criticizes the past when obviously he himself not far from few years seeing the OLF gangsters responsible for so many human abuse ( in some case ethnic cleansing, torture, power monger….) calling some of them as his “heroes”. So, when analyzing of the Ethiopian past negative” history, that also includes his “heroes” as well where he himself was part of building the past history which he is blaming it for so much injustice. If as you say the young is not caring about the nation’s past history or can carless about Menlik and Haileselassie and their process. As you said- the young can carless about the past, but the fact is dead history. History is a dialogue between the past and the present. If they are carless of the past, the young is running a great risk. They seem to believe one was dominant throughout history, one was only responsible for any malfunction of government or any injustice, and one see is always on the blame game. All sides including the Oromo, Islamic rulers in Ethiopia had equal responsibility and had great roll on damaging the nation, participating or applying tyrannical ruling system or distraction and burning killing life ” of the nation’s citizen in massive/genocidal like” in the past history for the sake of power hunger. The young generation need o take himself out free from the old tyrannical and criminal liberation fronts distorted orientation if one wants to bring new change/positive change. The young generation can careless about the past Ethiopianism. They can mix their deluded thoughts seeing that the pasts Ethiopia is not theirs; but, history is hand maid of life as long as it provides examples, judges the past puts the present in its proper place in historical process. Nationalism (I am not talking about specific ethnic nationalism) should not be seen as a business endeavor weigh in the eye of gaining or loosing. History is the result process of all community shared together. If we are to blame “majority for the abuse” then not a given community but all community of that given land/country was a participant actor on the process of shaping the said abuse. Speaking power sharing or abuse- there are times a given society rises and there are also times it falls and rule by another in return. So, the young need to understand history fully not partially. That is exactly why the young is manipulated by “perception oriented politics”. Society can be influenced by perception as much as it is by facts. True. It is also right when you said “In many situations, no amount of fact will overcome a perception that has taken root over a long period of time”. True, I can’t argue more. That is where we the generation before them who are still surviving should work hard to pull out the young from the tragic situation that “perception” not “facts” is the cause of continues malfunction society and misery. That is exactly why I said “history is a dialogue between past and present’. What we are seeing here in the case of Jawar and in your position for agreeing with them as well seems to sound “everything of the past didn’t produce to the present history”. You are right perception not factual is taking the brain of the young society in different forms;-movies, emotions, cartoons, fiction books and so on…… If the selection is embedded with perception not with facts, then deception is the king of the day. If politic is also compromised for perception, then deception would be the outcome. When that happens, then the entire talking of new era, new change, new ideology, new seeking new generation is obviously a theatric of “self deception’. When the society is lead by leaders who teach perception not facts then the entire wheel is retreating back words regardless there is “new communication” (what you call it in your earlier email, that can reach from USA to Endaselassie” the INTERNET CYBER). By the way speaking communication: - The young generation can communicate all he wants from one end of the earth to the other end of the glob/planet in seconds with the community living in each country as fast as light speed, as long as the message is imaginative not factual- it will end up repeating the same cycle of the past as long as it devalued the value of the past. “Therefore, past is a Dinosaur of a no relevant any more in the global market is not fact as you think. Society is craving to the past era and its physical feature in order to know who we are. Lucy might be dead before millions of years; Dinosaur might have been dead, but only with those who follow perception is believed Dinosaur is dead. If there was no of important knowing about the “dead dinosaur” or the dead Lucy, scientist could have not waste millions of Dollars and huge human labor to recreate it back (if they could) not physical but the dead fact of Dinosaur’s past). As you explained you do not want to be the “dead Dinosaur”; or “Lucy” but do not you worry, the dead Dinosaur is the “talk of the century” “the unsolved mystery”. Our past will not be dead, like or we dislike. Regarding the compromise issue you raised. Were there in any Ethiopian history that compromise never used? But, the compromise world of that age and the compromise of this age have different meaning of strategy of their own. The old compromise never allows a nation to be divided by ethnic, never allowed disintegration policy in their constitution. Yes, there was racism/greedy/injustice also. But who said the present or the future will be free from those phenomenon unless one is deluded by fantasy? if the present world or the future is a world of compromising, the art of compromise or management is not going to be lead by a divine God, but people who are “not complete” similar as the previous human beings who process the old world to reach the level where we are now.. I like Jawar for one thing. He is not violent as some of the fanatic gun totting minded secessionists. He believes in peaceful change, in peaceful organization. That is very brightest side of Jawar that I always admire and respect. We have seen young educated fellows dreaming big, but detached from their past history with a disastrous result that brought our country compromised for sale. The very first thing the so called new generation’s target is “the past” it perceived it as an “enemy, dysfunctional, old, and useless”. If the young generation where a cat throat mentality and compromise is the criteria to survive as a new policy/fashion in the present glob- the new generation should take a careful precaution not to end itself with a meaningless end. What the young generation needs to be fed is “leadership”, “engagement, debate”. The worst thing that the young is lacking is not internet communication or a young that hasten to network with the person at the farthest corner of the earth or in Debrebirhan, GaraKufa, Arero, Gode or Enda Sellasie with in the speed of light as you seem to hold Internet as the source of change. It is only “means” for change (transportation); it is “visionary leadership” that is lacking not a wire message communication. The issue is how the youth put it into fruitful usage. How furthest corner of the world he/she chats is not vital. What he/she applied to the chat is the relevant issue. What are lacking are those of you the educated to teach them properly. Why do I say that? The elite of Ethiopia are a disastrous sector (the media, the politician...). The present youth as you think to make me believe is not as bright as you think. It has professional conscientiousness, personal accomplishment not political ambition to change the current ethno centric politics. The youth whatever percentage you showed in your statistic to me might have been majority population. But, it is infected by ethnic epidemic. How promising is this? The Ethiopian elite/educated sectors (from Bachelor degree holders and up) are reproducing similar hierarchies on the internet media as the TPLF ruling class are shaping itself. Look at the Diaspora politics and its media outlet they preach and promote elitists politic (power and image).The Diaspora opposition (many of them) are engaged with marginalization of the people in favor of few handful disgruntled, criminals and racist personalities. The opposition media that is complaining of freedom of speech is now suffocating freedom of expression in the media it owns. Prejudice media are mushrooming all over the internet. Pal talk is the worst disaster of media usage. Unrestricted racism is promoted openly and knowingly on Pal talk producers (political or religious Pal Talk rooms). The present political opposition leaders are more deficient and more decadent and unstable than its predecessors. The young generations that you are enlightened and enthusiastically proud of are not politician or social participants. They are more influenced into the culture of consumption. The Pal-Talk rooms are operated by youth. The participants are youth as well. Please listen to what they relay or utter from their MIC and judge it to yourself how these youth are using the current communication (do not turn on your Mic or do not write a comment/they kick you out in a second- simply be patient and listen to each of the Pal talk Admins). When you look at the current opposition political organization and the relation with the Pal talk and their followers and the Diaspora in general is not heart to heart desire of stable love communication based on country love. It is “money”. The opposition organization needs money, and the Pal Talk community also wants “guest speaker from the political leaders” for usage of their addiction of promoting chatting/back stabbing/racism. Each of their relation is similar to an addict and a drug dealer on the street. They needed each other each for their own cause and desire and agenda/goal. The scary phenomenon is the following phenomenon; - the Pal talk Admins seems to control the political atmosphere and the political organizations are dominated/intimidated by PalTalk chatters and operators. If this strange “media gangsters” are left to allow control/subdue the political organization ( by intimidating through painting wrong names/back stabbing of some leaders/nationalists) I am afraid that there is a self destructive impulse that I am observing nurtured by egos and money and media monopoly. That is not healthy for political development. The leaders in politics need to be able to be distance themselves from being hegemony by few psychopathic Pal Talk operators or media manipulators. Regarding “show me the money dude”

If therefore, the 21 century youth who demanded with a question “show me the money dude” be better also ready to show its staff when his client asks him “Where is the staff dude?” Not only is expected to show his client where his staff is, but also how “Primo” his staff is as a major factor if one wants to control the present competitive global market or if one wants to see “where the money” is. All in all Jawar is a young brilliant fellow that can be a positive effect if only detached himself with those OLF tinted nationalist ideology that he “sometimes” seemed to be trapped in. Finally, I am comfortable to work with him than with the rest of the narrow nationalists who took me as THEIR “enemy” simply because I challenged their failed ideology of “cessation”. Good to talk with you brother Kuchuye Best Regards Getachew Reda www.Ethiopiansemay.blogspot.com Getachre@AOL.com