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INSIDE & OUTSIDE
Also, see EthioForum
If you are an Ethiopian, this message is for you. Ethiopia and Eritrea do not have REPRESENTATIVE governments, people in power represent nobody but themselves. They came to power with the AK-47 and their party inner life, the family struggle continues. Addis and Asmara are paid not to behave as Marxists, but they think the only way they know -- war, civil war.
Perhaps, there's a lesson for all to learn from this
conflict. Freedom is good only when it's freedom to do
something, to do better. Will Eritrea be better off without
Ethiopia? And who is out there to replace it?
The recent confrontation is a continuation of 30 plus years
of fantasies and demagoguery. The real Eritrean problem is that
they don't know what to do with their independence.
Unfortunately, Africa is run by ideologues, not statesmen. The
real leader is concerned with the welfare of the state and its
people, not words and feelings.
No, I was wrong; it’s our, Ethiopian problem, because
Eritrea has no future without Ethiopia. The problem will
resurface again, they have no other place to go.
Do you want to see for yourself what the real problem is?
Why don't you read what they have to say?
Go to the Eritrean sources on page 17.
Conflict: Interview on Public Radio (download by RealPlayer)
@1998-2000 The House of Sellassie
It was unavoidable. As we promised, Haile Sellassie WWW opens this page for politics only. Ethiopia is in the news again, and again it's the war front news.
The Third World is facing an intellectual challenge; the West has nothing to offer but itself. Together with the end of communism we witnessed the collapse of our ability to generate new ideas for history. After that many costly social experiments of the century we even afraid to think...
There must be further intellectual investment into matters of the present in order to bring the country on the road to real development.
They don't, they won't, they can't share power with anybody. Not today and not tomorrow. They can't be reformed, only replaced with a new generation of leadership. They are young enough to hang on for another twenty years. The real quoestion is not what to do today but what do you want Ethiopia to become tomorrow.New Mad War
MY OPINION:
Regardless of international political maneuvers or on the ground
military confrontation, the Eritrean Problem will be with us
tomorrow. And it's an Eritrean, not an Ethiopian problem. Ethiopia
lived without Eritrea as an independent nation -- Eritrea never was independent. The recent few years of experiment in political
independence ended up on the day when Ethiopia forced Eritrea
into real economic independence, declaring the hard currency
exchange, after Eritrea issued its own money. Nothing unusual in the
fact that independent countries trade in hard currency.
Independence is not a flag (each American State has its own
flag); freedom is paid for with ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE, the ability to
support oneself. (That was the real source of success of the
American Revolution). Eritrea never was an independent economic
entity. Not even throughout the last seven years of statehood. In
fact, the recent crisis is an indication how much independence
Eritrea actually has. Eritrea's cultural and historical features
are no more unique than other ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Every
state in the US or Switzerland has its own unique qualities. The Eritrean
Problem is in not-experiencing-independence, ever. They don't
know what it means. In 1952 they didn't understand the idea
of federation, when the national laws had supremacy over local
legislature. In 1991 they struggled with the fantom of total
independence. The North and South in America went through
years of civil war over this principle of federation. There is no
absolute freedom and no perfect political system on this earth.
"Federation" is a preference! The State of Vermont left the Union and
came back because it was beneficial for the people in Vermont to
be a part of the United States of America than to be its own
state-nation.
The present situation could be left as is and time will
show how independent Eritrea is. History demonstrates that
divided Germany or Korea could stay apart for a long time.... if
supported by the third party. Who and why will pay for and secure
Eritrea economically? Eritrea is too small to follow the steps of
the Big Brother (Ethiopia) in economic procrastination. Ethiopia
is big enough to be a market by itself, it can afford to lose
time in false reforms without losing its identity.
Second Opinion and Second Thought
Actors & Directors
There is a method to this Eritrean madness. The play it globally. They know
that the conflict is not between them and Ethiopia, they are aware who are
the major players. They know the present day ideological mindset -- they are small, they are minority, the world will be on their side. They know the logic of contemporary international politics -- promotion of disintegration everywhere. Who cares that there is a double standard! America fought the Civil War over issue of succession, the British keep fighting IRA and
Spain -- Basks, but for the others, every breakup is fine. The situation
resembles something from the Roman times of “divide and conquer” -- but
wait, the Romans applied it to the defeated enemies! Interesting. Did we hear so many times that the US would like to see other nations become strong and prosperous -- it’s good for America (yes, and it does make sense), but why doesn’t the US government have a sound political plan for Africa? Well, maybe we have it -- we don’t care! We want things the way they are (American position in negotiating the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia). Although the reason for this mess in Africa that “the way things are” is not fine! There
are too many things that are not in place to have real peace and future. Who
does wonder why the UN is still in Bosnia? So, should we keep this situation
of broken ties between Eritrea and Ethiopia on this international life-support system, too? Is the US team interested in resolving the problem, or in OUR peace of mind? Oh, yes, the situation in Africa is no longer Moscow and Washington game, but the fate of Africa still to a great degree comes out of Africa. Eritrea knows it.
What to do? Maybe to recognize this fact instead of wasting empty words
about support for freedom, democracy and self-reliance. If the logic of the
global political gambling, played by Eritrea, is a surprise for their
Ethiopian former comrades, then they should learn new lessons in propaganda.
Eritrea won the public relation campaign the moment it invaded and Ethiopia
lost the war on our TV screens. Who do you think will be blamed if Ethiopia will push them back? The madness of the Eritrean military move can’t be comprehended by the media and they will side with the little underdog. Was it done in a calculative manner? Most likely it was an act of economic desperation. What matters is that Ethiopia is facing not just Eritrea, but the world. Eritrea’s military defeat would be very costly for Ethiopia in this global game of political madness and hypocrisy. This is another war to fight and it’s here, in America. Anatoly. August 30, 1998
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