borkena
November 18, 2019
As the executive committee meeting of Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, EPRDF, which is poised to be a single national party sooner rather than later, concludes its meeting, decisions from the meeting are sent to the party’s council for approval. If approved,which is likely to happen, that marks the end of EPRDF. It will be a new party, with a new brand but without its former master, TPLF.
In a social media update written in three languages (Amharic, English and Afan Oromo) on his own Facebook page, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the meeting over the past three days concluded bringing leadership from various parties within the coalition more closer. “I am very happy about it.” he said.
In the last day of the meeting, the executive committee discussed and approved bylaws of the new party to be officially announced soon. The program of the party, discussed on the second day of the meeting, is “designed to take all segments of society forward,” Abiy said in his update. And he described the meeting and circumstances under which decisions were made regarding party merger and political, social and economic program of the party as “transparent and democratic”
It is now public that Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) opposed the merger and is perhaps going its way. If that happens, it may mean, at least temporarily, the organization has to reduce itself to an opposition party at the Federal level although it is running the administration in Tigray. But all that is to be seen in the weeks to come.
In the past, the organization appeared to have not overtly against the merger of various parties that constituted the coalition for more than 28 years.
Ethiopian state-owned television, Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), was airing video clips of EPRDF conferences since the late 1990’s. The videos attest that TPLF was not openly against merger of coalition parties. In one of the clips, the late Meles Zenawi who was also chairman of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) talks about the reason why what the umbrella organization calls “support organizations” ( or Agar organizations) could not join EPRDF as full member with similar rights like the rest of the member parties in the coalition. “In the areas where these parties operate,” said Meles referring to the parts of Ethiopia where support organizations run local governments, “there is no social base for revolutionary democracy because they are mostly pastoralists.” He was referring to regions like Afar, Benishangul, Gambella, Somali and Harari regions. Meles Zenawi concluded his statement in the clip saying that these parties will join EPRDF as full members when the society in their respective region becomes reaches a point when it is conducive to revolutionary democracy.
Another influential TPLF member, Seyoum Mesfin who has served as Ethiopia’s foreign minister for nearly two decades, said during the ruling coalition’s congress, as seen in another video clip that EBC aired, “…it may not mean that EPRDF will necessarily uses its current program if the merger is to happen…” which will bring “support political organizations” from the five areas mentioned above.
On what grounds is now TPLF opposing the merger? The tone is a bit different. TPLF believes that the parties under EPRDF don’t have, among other things, similar ideology and hence unity of purpose.
TPLF claims, at least on the surface, that EPRDF should adhere to revolutionary democratic ideology “with which the ruling party won the last national election.” But on a deeper level, it is the anger from the loss of power and dominance in the central government that seem to be influencing the organization to be a political irate.
The rest of the political organizations within EPRDF on the other hand have agreed, based on core agenda discussed in the past three days, the party is adopting capitalistic ideology.
Apart from most of the member parties in the erstwhile coalition, opposition parties in the country, for example Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice Party, see the move along the line of merger within the ruling coalition in a positive light. Yeshiwas Assefa, the party’s organization affairs head, is cited as saying that it is an indication that the country wants to abandon to move along ethnic political orbit. “Political parties should compete not the basis of ethnicity, religion or which part of the region they came from but on the basis of ideas that they generate,” he said as reported by DW Amharic.
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We will see how it works. All ethiopians but some Gurages and Amharas oppose the move!!!
Good luck, to make it work a leader has to be firm and decisive on peace and unity of the country. Up to know those qualities have lacked.
Jawar is a hero
They are trying to show that he is muslim and to send message to the public that muslims are anti orthodox church which is not true. There are many muslims who respect our values and come to get baptised in our church, give donations to the church and visit our holy water .
fake image stirring violence This is message of fanatic violent amhara who want to get his message accross the public by oversatting his american identity . We are equal befoer the eye of God even if the media depicts americanism like the one it is superhuman identity. blaaa narrowminded produce crass article
jawar is a hero tplfite,
It is Jawar who ordered the killings of the christians in Oromia. We are focusing on Jawar, for sure the al-shabab querro has been smuggled in from Somalia under the watchful eyes of Aby into the country under the order of tplf/jawar. what does that tell you?
The next chapter is the domination of not just Oromo, Islamia Oromia. That is why Jawar is working relentlessly. for Aby, he doesn’t care, Jawar will do the job for him. Aby will say it is him who is doing it not me, and point finger at Jawar. The point is the job will be done on the ground. That is why they are cleaning Christians in Oromia region.
The power needs to be under Lema Megersa, if not, bring another strong Oromo leader, even the moderate ones that used to be under tplf. Why? they knows the situation of Ethiopia. These fanatic jawar types would lead the country to the bring with tplf. it looks like though the one playing the chess on ethiopia seems Shabia.
That is encouraging news. I applaud those in the ruling party for thinking out of the box and above the entrapment of politics along the risky ethnic lines. To me, for intents and purposes the so-called ‘nations and nationality’ question has been amicably answered after 1995. Children are not forced to have the shock of their lives on their first day at school as I did just because the medium of instruction has suddenly changed into a language they never heard before. Citizens do not have to look for translators to get their case heard in local courts and public offices. They have a region they can proudly call as their own and share with others(if not for bigots rampaging everywhere).
I also got news from back home that the regime has decided to make 3 more languages as the national medium namely Somali, Afar and Tigre languages along with Amharic. I have been making suggestion for years now. Mine goes even further to include Arabic also. I hope they have left current status of the English language in the high school and up.
My earth shaking and loud congratulation goes to my beloved brothers and sisters of Somali and Afar heritage. Your noble languages deserve the prestige. I call upon on your linguistic scholars to author curricular textbooks to make teaching Afari and Somali as 2nd languages easier and efficient. It is time to write well edited cross referring dictionaries to help adults make inroads in the effort. You have your work cut out for you.
I also want to say this to those who never had to live among our Afar and Somali brothers and sisters and did not have the chance to interface with them in their languages. These two languages are as beautiful and full of fun as any other languages. I assume much has been done in these areas when it comes to the Tigrayan language. My same congratulation also goes to my dear brothers and sisters from that region also.
Such news help soothe my restive nerves!!!
Where is the true Querro that protested with Fano, Zerma 1 year ago? The true Querros have been killed by Jawar/olf groups secretly and were replaced by al-shabab groups smuggled from Somalia raised by tplf. That is why the killing was orchestrated. We demand the true Querros who killed them? Jawar/Lencho Letta/ dima negewo/ dawid ibsa are responsible for the killing of the Ethiopian Querro oromos illimanted by Jawar groups 1.5 years ago.
Ethiopia is a country that didn’t implement federalism in anyway shape or form yet, so this veto decision doesn’t make a difference to anyone not even EPRDF itself.