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Kinijit US delegate’s mission revisited
Two months of fame and long lasting scar For the last two years, those of us here in the US have gone through a lot in terms of obtaining the release of all “prisoners of conscience”, particularly Kinijit Party leaders.
We have organized demonstrations, knocked at the doors of local state and federal government officials as well as senators and state representatives, wrote thousands of letters, organized candle light prayer vigils etc. It has been a harrowing and traumatizing experience a time in our life we will not forget for the rest of our lives.
Few months back, our prayers and hard work paid off in the release of, at least, all the party leaders. We rejoiced, celebrated and most of all our hope for a bright future for our people at large was re-ignited like never before. Little did we know that it would be short lived, due to a reckless and divisive behavior that was vividly manifesting within the body of Kinijit leadership that has been in the works even before the leaders went to Kaliti.
A few weeks after their release, rumors were flying that the root causes of the problem that has totally incapacitated the organizational work of the Diaspora support structure had its roots in Kaliti. True to form, now we know, thanks to the gallant members of the Central Committee and especially from one of the founders Kestedamena and Kinijit party, Professor Mesfin Woldemariam that the culprit is just a power monger individual amongst the leadership who has been expanding and stretching his spheres of influence to satisfy his thirst for power beyond our imagination.
Based on all available and solid information from within the party, one can safely
conclude that the whole debacle that has engulfed the Kinijit family was a carefully designed and deliberately planned and executed move by a handful of the former Kestedemena group and their new recruits in the Diaspora.
1. One of the indicators of the ill-fated campaign against the chairman was the
blocking-off; mocking and ridiculing the Chairman’s directives while the leaders
were in prison. The foot soldiers and cadres were always active and busy in
creating havoc and division at each and every North America general assembly
meetings with the aim of destabilizing the already well functioning organization
and plant their own comrade-in-arms. Those of us in both the May and August
NA conferences in Washington DC are good witnesses when they deliberately
tried and succeeded in fomenting severe division amongst the general
membership. The two events were taped and recorded for any one to see and hear their vulgar manners throughout the session. Thanks to Professor Mesfin,
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Ato Bedru and an array of Kinijit CC members and others, it has become abundantly clear from their interviews that a section of the leadership has been conspiring to systematically ridicule and shove away the first elected Party President in our history and forcefully crown the architect of the turmoil as the head of the party.
In the last two months we have seen repeated and intentionally coordinated demeaning editorials against the Chairman by surrogate Diaspora media outlets for no apparent and substantive reasons. Knowing well that by doing so they can only help the regime in power.
The Chairman just came out of prison sick, a sickness he cultivated while in
prison, and being hospitalized ever since they came out of Kaliti except for brief
moments that he had to attend public otherwise very important meetings after his
doctor’s consent. Let us not forget the fact that all the leaders were shoved into
the Woyane dungeon right after they were elected. He did not have the chance or opportunity to exercise the functions of his office.
The few executive decisions he managed to pass over to his subordinates while in prison were only emergency actions undertaken under the worst conditions, using his executive powers and in consultation with his colleagues who were with him at the time. It was a move based on the information he received to save the
disintegrating Diaspora movement. Considering the one-year stalemate and
selfish power struggle that took place within the leadership of the Diaspora
movement, it was the right and appropriate decision to reform and re-organize the leadership.
2. Under the guise of ‘re-organization’, democratization and accountability, these
agents of destruction have indeed succeeded in creating their satellite agents; in
many cities across the US to systematically destroy the already existing
established chapters. These agents have systematically targeted each sections of the Ethiopian Community in each and every city to create havoc and advance
their ill motives.
3. It has now become very clear that the US delegation team’s main purpose was evidently to dislodge those Kinijit chapters who have been legally established for over 3 years and replace them with individuals hand picked by Kestedemena detractors. This has been the case during all their tours across America in spite of strong opposition from the public.
4. There were similar Kinijit delegates sent to Europe and South Africa. These two groups had been entrusted with the same mission as the US delegates when they left Addis. However, the delegation’s mission to Europe and South Africa, as it was widely reported, was successfully completed as set by the CC. Wherever they went within their area of visits, they brought all groups together and left with a lasting impression to all Ethiopians. They left behind a relatively united community that can withstand any divisive and subversive activities aimed at undermining Kinijit Support groups.
5. Interviews conducted with the Europe and South Africa delegate’s performance attests to the whole debacle and largely out of the way divisive
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mission of the US delegates.
6. The delegates utter disregard for the two CC members, Dr Bezabeh Demise and Major Admasu Melaku, have shown how low these delegates have gone. Those two CC members were in fact elected parliamentarians who were immensely instrumental in the huge success Kinijit registered during the 2005 election. The five US visitors did not even bother to talk to them and find out what they discovered from their 3 months investigative work they had complied before their release in regards to the Diaspora problems.
Dire consequences of the US mission
1. Alienated mass support and seriously hampered the good work of many legally established chapters and their supporters across the US.
2. Aggravated the already existing divisions among supporters.
3. The overall fund raising effort is severely constrained and will impact future
efforts in this regard.
4. Ignited clannish divisions, which has never been experienced amongst Kinijit
supporters in the Diaspora. It will be hard to eliminate the scars that have befallen amongst comrades any time soon. There is no doubt in our mind that the consequences of this reckless move on the part of the five delegates would
seriously impact the activities of the support groups.
5. Diverted our attention to infighting within supporters causing animosity, waste of energy and time in instead of focusing on the enemy.
6. The division and infighting will definitely be exported to our people back home
that will have far reaching consequences. Those of us who witnessed the Meison
vs EPRP debacle during the previous regime are living testimonies to the
devastating effect it had on our people and many of us personally after both
groups return to Ethiopia and tried to build their own support structure.
7. There is no doubt in our minds that agent’s of the ruling regime has penetrated the Kinijit structure through the cracks with the rush of recruitment the other side has launched to advance their goal. Many newly formed “ Teletafi Kinijit” support groups under the two former KIL members are suspect in this venture. Others antagonistic of Kinijit have found the perfect opportunity to dismantle and spread vicious rumors against those who toiled day and night to solidify and expand Kinijit’s support elsewhere.
Some of the destructive, damaging and self-inflicting propaganda these detractors were trying to inculcate in the minds of the Diaspora supporters are:
1. That the Chairman is a dictator, out of touch, old and incapable to lead the party.
Since they arrived, the public was given the false impression that he is out of
reach when we know he is sick and ready to join them after he completed his
medical treatment. It was clear and very evident that they purposely tried to avoid
him. Fearing the Chairman joining them any time during the tour in spite of the
many requests posed to them by chapters across the US to delay their visits until
he joins them, they were rushing their scheduled tour of US cities to accomplish
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their hidden purpose of crowning the Kestedemena new recruits wherever they
went.
2. That the chairman and his supporters exclude sections of our people. The vice
chairwoman in her speech at the Minnesota Town Hall meeting has re-opened a
new prosecution action file on behalf of the TPLF regime accusing one of their
own as an ethnic basher. For all who were in that meeting and those of us who
listened to the entire speech, the context of her statement mentioning Ato Bedru
Adem as the culprit was a vicious and intentional act in that she was deliberately
trying to get to the chairman by association.
3. They openly encouraged and in some cases participated, through their tour
facilitators particularly Ato Abebe Belew, a new recruit, to defame and make
speeches that ridicule the chairman and his supporters. In one instance, Abebe
Belew, during a late night party in one city, announced the dismantling of an
existing chapter and crowned those Kestedemena cadres on the spot as
representatives of Kinijit. The five delegates were on hand to cheer and give their
tacit approval to the dismay of the people around them. Having highlighted above what has expired in the past two months of the delegates visit, our only hope is that the wise leaders of Kinijit in Addis would thoroughly investigate the
entire case of the US delegates mission and take the necessary action that would restore the respect and dignity of the organization. There are many questions that need to be answered which may crack open the obvious reasons behind the intent to break down the Diaspora Kinijit movement. Who initiated this continental visit? How was each member and group elected? What were the directives given to each group? Did any one pressure or lobbied any member to isolate the chairman? Who initially suggested and recommended the three welcoming committee members for the US visit to Kinijit Leadership in Addis? Does the US group achieved its goal of unifying the support groups or left them in array? Why not?
Why did the US delegates totally ignore the two Kinijit mediators namely Dr Bezabeh and Major Admasu? Why wouldn’t they listen to the chairman when he asked them to wait for him? Why did Dr. Berhanu manipulate the spot light and delivered all the major speeches and conducted interviews on behalf of Kinijit while the chairman and vice chairwoman were basically sidelined? If one carefully looks into these questions, it is very clear that this whole episode is perpetrated by one, two or three of the US delegates with close collaboration from the defiant former KIL members who were already strong suspects in the Diaspora community as the sources of all the troubles for the last two years.
We appeal to the Ethiopian people and through them to the Kinijit Leadership to take immediate action before even taking a single step in re-organizing or consolidating the party structure and formulating any action plans. Failure to do that, would be a fatal mistake since the group that are mentioned above have inflicted damages which will have a divisive impact both at home and in the Diaspora. Most of all, the five delegates should apologize to the chairman for the immoral behavior they all have shown him while on tour. The Diaspora would certainly, especially those of us who received cold shoulders from the five, would like to get an official apology from Kinijit executive committee.
Berhane Tinsae
November 29, 2007
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