Barking up the wrong tree, again!

Yilma Bekele
March 27, 2008

 

 

The TPLF minority regime is at it again. That is reinventing the wheel. It is another chapter in the history of our ‘keystone cops’ who do not seem to shoot straight. This time the culprit is inflation and general economic melt down. It looks like the ugly face of  reality is confronting the make believe world of the TPLF mafia head on.  True to their nature our esteemed leaders have arrived at the wrong diagnosis and prescribed utterly useless medicine proven not to have ever worked.

 

            What we got in Ethiopia is a regime, which has been in transition from one crisis to another without any respite in its seventeen years of miserable rule. Its inability to solve the many simmering problems, its inherent tendency to revert to force and band aid solutions has resulted in a do or die situation. The chickens have come home to roost.

 

            The latest crisis like the Indian God Vishnu comes with many hands. There is war in Somalia, which is draining the national treasury, and the national will. There is the specter of war with our cousins in the north, which requires us to station troops that have to be fed and housed. There is internal conflict in Ogaden that is decimating our fellow Somali citizens. There is the on going conflict with the OLF through out the southern states that requires untold number of troops, police, and security personnel. And the mother of all problems, there is this little affair of over 9 million Ethiopians on the verge of starvation and needing assistance today. 

 

            I did not mean to forget inflation and unemployment. But it is the result not the cause of this Chernobyl like melt down of the economy. Even a rich country like the US cannot wage a trillion dollar war and expect to escape unscratched. For a poor, backward, underdeveloped country like ours the consequences of irrational action brings the seeds of its own destruction. So the TPLF minority regime after a long somber analysis of the situation has devised a very clever and ‘sure not to work’ solution to our national problem.

 

First solution is absolute denial. What inflation, the economy has been growing at double digits for the last five years. There is plenty of grain and other food items so the rumors of shortage is exaggerated and baseless fanned by our enemies. The situation in Somalia has resulted in pacification of the country and our allies are in charge. As for Ogaden when the time comes we will be happy to take you on tour and show the world the incredible work done by our security forces in building schools, clinics and the many irrigation projects.

 

Thus to show the population that TPLF is meeting the challenge of building democracy and ensure stability all grain merchants will be arrested as illegal profiteers and hoarders. Private money exchange places are banned and their working capital will be transferred to legitimate state enterprises under the watchful eyes of Endowment Fund For Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT)

 

It is to be recalled that the TPLF leadership is the one and the same which has proposed the following brilliant solutions in the past seventeen years.

·        The need for a sea outlet is highly exaggerated.

·        Ethnic based association is the wave of the future.

·        Land ownership cannot be trusted to the people.

·        University is for training cadres not for higher education.

·        The Parliament is not the place to discuss national budget and national security.

·        The Somali Islamic Court is weak and no match to our clan based army.

·        CUDP is the opposition we were praying for.

·        No political prisoners in Ethiopia, but we will release seventeen thousand for the Millennium as a good will.

 

No one can deny the brainpower of our leaders, which are guiding us to hell with our eyes wide open. What is one to do in this time of crisis and bewilderment to the mighty TPLF? This reminds me of the story of my cousin entitled ‘Gifaw’ or Push. Two brothers came to Addis with a small capital and opened a store. One was located on a busy street and his business was thriving, while the other to save money choose a back alley with no foot traffic. After six months or so store A was expanding and hiring employees while store B was deserted and lifeless. Thus the hapless brother asked his sibling to buy his inventory since he was going back to the farm. His brother offered him $700 for his goods. B was highly offended as refused. After a week or so they meet again and B agreed to take the offer. But his brother said his new offer is $500. B was blowing smoke and seething and left in haste. So they meet again at a cousins weeding and again B said he would take the new offer. Unfortunately A reduced his offer to $200. Their cousin hearing this asked A why he is doing this to his own brother. And A replied ‘as you can see he has no future, why prolong his agony. It is better to push him and relive him of further pain. Falling will make him a better person tomorrow’. So in this time of need all citizens should give the minority regime a small push and do them a favor. If they leave in peace there is always a chance that tomorrow they will come back wiser and stronger. On the other hand prolonging the agony will only make us all bitter and unforgiving. We don’t want that.