Addis Tribune has published opinions by readers on topics that, if not greatly important, merit some discussion since, in one way another, affect the lives of all Ethiopians. The magazine has been instrumental in facilitating and encouraging ideas that are meaningful to Ethiopians everywhere and as such should be commended and encouraged to continue in its wisely chosen path. It was an eye opening experience to read articles on a wide range of topics and the subsequent, sometimes lame and at times strong, reactions from readers with different outlooks.

In a recent issue of October 15, I came across an article that caught my attention regarding the merits of the Ethiopian Calendar and the numerous pieces written that were related to it. While growing up in Addis, I can recall my own experience interchangeably using the two calendars depending on the circumstance without much of a mental effort on my part. Since leaving Ethiopia twenty something years ago, there was hardly anytime I used the calendar, except in informal conversations with folks who are on a visit here, at which time I have to tune up my mind fast to relate to what they are saying. The residual of that upbringing manifests itself more in the way I still read time; sometimes using the Ethiopian way to answer folks a generation or so older than myself and other times using the European system in my everyday life, and often times caught up in the confusion of separating one from the other.

Although the discussion on the calendar was initiated by the editors of Addis Tribune and has been going back and forth for sometime, an opposing opinion written by Mr. Mesfin Arega caught my attention, and to the say the least, I found it to be quite interesting and mind boggling. From the outset, let me start by commending the writer on his ideas on some social issues regarding colonialism and its aftermath, and his particular emphasis on looking inward to solve the myriad of social problems that is facing us. But more than anything, I have been repulsed by his baseless and unwarranted accusations that he mercilessly leveled at Ethiopian Muslims, which has been quite a customary in some of our online newspapers nowadays.

After reading Mr. Arega's article, I reminded myself of the adage that says an angry person is seldom reasonable and a reasonable person is seldom angry and was leaning towards ignoring these malicious and bigoted accusations on Ethiopian Muslims who have been at the receiving end of more than their share of abuse and discrimination from time immemorial as a lashing of a madman without regard to truth and objectivity. But then, I was reminded of another adage that says if you repeat a falsehood enough times it can be regarded as truth in some circles and thus persuaded myself to pick up my pen and write this piece.

Mr. Arega's article is filled with the utmost disregard and contempt towards Ethiopian Muslims and others who do not fit the narrow nationalistic and outright chauvinistic definitions he set up to reawaken the discredited, backward and archaic feudal system that we thought we dumped in the dustbin of history. Mr. Arega used the pretext of defending the Ethiopian calendar to spew the venom of hatred on Ethiopian Muslims of all cultural background and every other Muslim in the world. Of particular concern is where Mr. Arega betrays his ignorance regarding Ethiopian Muslims and the religion of Islam as a whole and its followers everywhere and caricatures them as copiers of the Arab culture. Since it is an exercise in futility to go over all the incomprehensible accusations Mr. Arega subjected Ethiopian Muslims to, let me give you an example of the blind lashes of hatred by which he accuses Ethiopiam Muslims as an entity that care more for the plight of Palestinians and Iraqis and other Muslims everywhere ( which, by the way, are some of the traits that should be expected from any freedom loving and democratic minded people everywhere) while disregarding the suffering of their own brother and sisters right here at home and the neighboring country of the Sudan( a condescending and paternalistic attitude, to say the least.) He describes Ethiopian Muslims as people "… who cannot discern the difference between Arab culture and Islam …"

Well, Ethiopian Muslims and those who have an inkling of knowledge about the religion of Islam are well aware of the obligations of the faith and try to adhere to its teachings as prescribed by the Quran, and definitely not as to the wishes of Mr. Arega. Particularly since the ill fated day of September 11, people across the globe have taken to search the messages of Quran and found out that Islam is a way of life that covers every aspect of the individual from cradle to grave and, of course, the hereafter. In order to understand the teachings of the Quran and recite the verses, Muslims are encouraged to learn the Arabic language and practice the Suna (licit practices and traditions of Isalm followed by the Prophet - Peace be upon Him - in all aspects of His life.) I have spent a good part of my life in Ethiopia, and my observation is just that; Muslims trying to live their life accordingly, albeit in a very unwelcome and sometimes hateful environment. Since Arabs are not a monolithic entity with homogenous culture, religion, etc. there is no basis for Mr. Arega to talk about an Arab culture per se. But Muslim Arabs have a common culture that they share among their brothers and sisters in Islam, including Ethiopian Muslims, that transcends the physical boundaries of nations. Believe me, Ethiopian Muslims, irrespective of ethnicity, are focused on making Islam the center of their culture. If Mr. Arega's dream of a homogenous Ethiopian culture that is shaped in the image of feudal system does not correspond with the reality mentioned above, then tough luck; he just has to live with it.

I humbly ask the reader to let me digress here and interject an invaluable piece of knowledge that I have found to be quite true in my own religious experience.

I will quote Elsayed M.H Omran's article titled Islam, the Qur'an and the Arabic Literature, an essay which explains about the the inimitability of the Qur'an among its other limitless attributes.

" … The inimitability of the Qur'an is not limited to its content. In fact, the Holy Book of Islam is held by Muslim scholars to be inimitable not only in its content but also in its language. The Qur'an, it has been constantly maintained, embodies linguistic and literary beauty which exceeds anything of human origin. This is borne out by the fact that no-one has ever been able to compose anything remotely resembling it in its linguistic, literary, or conceptual elegance. This point is repeatedly emphasized in the Holy Book itself. Thus the Qur'an says:

If the whole of mankind and the jinn were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed each other up. (17:88)

The inimitable nature of the Qur'an was recognized by generation after generation of scholars. Al-Tabari (d. 923) dealt with this subject in his voluminous study of the Holy Book. Al-Zamakhshari elaborated on this theme in his famous al-Kashshaf, as did Baydawi in his Tafsir. AlBaqillam, a prominent scholar, wrote a book, which he devoted entirely to this subject and to which he gave the title I'jaz al-Qur'an (The Inimitability of the Qur'an). Here he wrote:

The Qur'an is so wonderfully arranged and so marvelously composed, and so exalted is its literary excellence that it is beyond what any mere creature could attain. …"

Now let me get back to Mr. Arega and ask who wouldn't like to study the language of a Book (the Holy Quran) that has been described by countless Islamic scholars and others as a wonder, its contents of which is beyond the ability and bounds of any human being to compose? Who wouldn't like to study the Book in its original language and have a special place in their heart and soul for the language Allah chose to convey his message? Who wouldn't like to adopt the names of the faithful who accepted the faith at its earliest stages and fought hard to disseminate the word throughout the world and follow in their footsteps? Let me guess, Mr. Arega might say I will have none of these and that's quite understandable. But shouldn't we, Ethiopian Muslims, be in our right to exercise that and be proud of the culture that is surely part of us?

I ask the reader again to bear with me and allow me to quote Mr. Arega in his crusade to redeem Ethiopian Muslims and save them from loosing their true identity ( and I guess make them subservient to a feudal system.) I know it gets tedious to find any rationality in Mr. Aregas's delusional expedition to create hatred and friction among Ethiopian people just to make a reality of his sick dream.

He writes "…black Muslims who just do not seem to see the obvious fact that Arabs do not give a damn about Islam except to use it for advancing their nationalist agenda; black Muslims who do not raise their eyebrows when avowed Arab atheists - the likes of Saddam Hussein - invoke the Koran to rally them behind Arab causes; black Muslims who would rather die defending Arabic countries than their own…" I hate to see Mr. Arega shading a crocodile tear, and certainly would like to thank him for his concern and defense of the religion of Islam against Arabs who do not give a damn about it. But first, what is the Arab's nationalist agenda regarding Ethiopia he mentioned above? Maybe the Arabs are trying hard to turn Ethiopia into an Islamic empire by building madressas and mosques all over the place and strip the country of its legendary name of "Island of Christianity", as some other "concerned" Ethiopian writer suggested. I was inclined to dismiss the accusation as frivolous, but I know for a fact that there are very sick people who would like to turn this into a serious discussion. Talk about loosing your marbles.

Mr. Arega is lashing out against anyone who is not accepting his idea of Ethiopia, particularly the Ethiopia of feudalism and the prominent figures who populated the bureaucracy, many of whom were at the forefront of running and maintaining the system. Let me quote from his earlier articles alluding to this fact, and to put it very mildly, he is trying to rewrite history and turn the facts upside down: He writes about " … the likes of Emperor Tewodros (Ethiopia's Bismarck or Garibaldi), Fitawrari Gebeyhu (the Hero of Adwa), Fitawrari Geresu Duki (the liberator of Jimma), general Jagama Kello (Ethiopia's Ulysses Grant), and the great Authors Aleka Kidanewold Kifle, Aleka Desta Teklewold, and Aleka Kebede Michael…"

We can safely say that Emperor Tedros, Yohannes, Menelik and Teferri Mekonen, true to their nature and like their predecessors were guardians of the feudal system that left us next to last in the progress of human history. If we are going to glorify a feudal system that subjugated its people to misery, ignorance, famine, disease and utter poverty, we should go straight to a psychiatrist to examine the state of our mind. And those who maintained the system of government established by these feudal rulers should be considered as part and parcel of the problem, no matter the level of their knowledge. The degree of ones' education has nothing to do with the level of care one shows towards his fellow human beings. This is a universal truth that history taught us repeatedly. If that was not the case, people would have elected (where that right is properly protected) the best educated geniuses to take care of all governments, big and small. Even in the best case scenario of democratic governments, we know for a fact that is not the case.

As in everything in life, there were some exceptional individuals who cared and fought for the welfare of their people above and beyond their own interest. Mention should be made of Lij Iyassu, Ras Imiru, Kebede Michael and of course numerous others for which Ethiopians of all creeds and persuasion hold a special place in their hearts. But all the feudal lords and the vast majority their ilk should not be remembered with reverence and presented to our children as raw models? On the contrary, like everything that was wrong in the system that left us begging for our daily bread time and again, they should be a piece of history in a museum for us to reflect and not repeat what was wrong in our past life. Otherwise, we would be making a mockery of all those brave Ethiopians who paid with their lives to dismantle the feudal system and others who suffered in many other ways. I don't know where Mr. Arega was during those tumults and difficult times when the Derge was slaughtering and torturing untold number of Ethiopian across the board, but the least he should do is thank them for the liberty he is enjoying spewing his venom because it is the direct result of their struggle. Mr. Arega did not mince words in telling us how much he loath their sacrifice, but even then, the least he should have done was show the same courtesy and respect for their endeavor that he tried to bestow on his feudal masters.

If there is just one thing that I would like to find out more than anything in this universe it is how the human brain functions. It will be a great enlightening experience to discover what makes some people think the way they do. Here we have a seemingly well educated individual in Mr. Arega with a good mastery of the English language to adequately express himself but failing miserably in trying to convince us what is good for the feudal system is good for everyone in the country. I will quote him again for the last time and present you with his idea of what an ideal and traditional Ethiopia should look like and ask the reader if this is what we are looking for in our country's future. He writes

" … As I am for retaining our Ethiopian calendar, I am for resurrecting our own beautiful measuring units - SINZER, KIND, GASHA, ENQEB, QUNA, WEQET, MEKLIT etc. We just have to give them precise definitions to avoid arbitrariness, and this should have been the first and foremost objective of the so called "Ethiopian Standardization Institute". I really don't know what the heck this institute has been "standardizing" throughout its existence - what its mandate is. Couldn't it at least come up with Ethiopian names for terms like radio, television, computer, internet, minibus, mobile phone etc. before they take root and pollute our languages?

In any case, if you accept the British units foot, yard, mile, and stone as valid units of measurement, what is your problem with standardized KIND, SINZER, and WEQET? If you consider "acre" as a legitimate unit of area, why not a well defined GASHA? If it is ok to express crop volume (or any dry capacity) in bushels, why not in QUNA? What is so shameful about our units of measurement? Is it only because they are our own? Should everything originate in Europe for you to be acceptable or "scientific"? What is the matter with you? Tell me. I am baffled. "

I will try to get to the point and let me be the first one to say there is nothing wrong in the opinion expressed above except for one glaring shortcoming. Mr. Arega is deliberately or out of ignorance, which I doubt, is trying to lump everyone and paint them with the same brush. All the names that he is proposing as a substitute for the foreign terms are Amharic and he is taking it for granted that everyone in Ethiopia is of Amhara decent. He took the liberty in using the word Ethiopia as a synonym for the word Amhara. What exactly is an "Ethiopian name"? I really would like to know what Mr. Arega means by the Ethiopian language. There are more than seventy ethnic groups in Ethiopia with their own distinct language, culture, psychological makeup, etc. How did Mr. Arega arrive at his decision to make Amharic Ethiopia's official language? I understand that Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia that was imposed upon the vast majority of the people without their consent and input, but does that imply that the status-quo should remain as it is simply because Mr. Arega thinks that is the way it should be? Does he really think that there are no other ethnic groups or nationalities in the country or is he suggesting that everyone should adopt the Amharic language as their own because Haile Selassie made it into law?

If Mr. Arega is aware of the basic tenets of democracy as "a majority rule with minority rights", he would have been reserved in expressing his opinions as forcefully as he did since the Amhara ethnic group is one among several large ethnicities and a minority if the whole population is taken into consideration. Mr. Arega would have been very sincere in his beliefs if he showed the same resourcefulness towards the Oromo language for the obvious reason that they comprise the majority of the Ethiopian population. Either Mr. Arega doesn't consider the Oromo's as Ethiopians or he is deliberately trying to impose his ideal culture on them and every other ethnic group in the country. When he finds it convenient, he makes mentions of the merits of an ethnic groups as in the case where he felt obligated to write about Oromiffa as a part of Ethiopia's "… most beautiful languages to listen to, … highly descriptive, and - given proper attention - can equal, if not surpass, … the language you are alluding to …" But where is else did Mr. Arega remember to write the merits of Oromiffa as he did with numerous example for the Amharic language? I hate to offer any council to Mr. Arega but I have to remind him that he should stick to his conviction and maintain his true color rather than blubbering words he has no business and interest saying. One does not have to wonder too far to discover that Mr. Arega has a tendency of pretending to speak on behalf of all of us regarding our culture and history belying his true beliefs when in fact what he means is he has a deep desire to see Amharic and Orthodox Christianity sanctioned as official language and religion of Ethiopia respectively.

Let me illustrate what I mean by quoting a sentence from his piece "… Then you will tell us (meaning the editors of Addis Tribune - my emphasis) discard our religions and become Anglicans/Catholics, yet again" in the interest of internationalism " …" I do not have any desire to split hair with Mr. Arega, but for a split second I thought he was talking about all of us when he used the term us but then he went on to write about Anglicans/Catholics. If I understood him correctly, he failed to include Ethiopian Muslims in that particular phrase (us) because obviously he is referring to non-Muslim Ethiopians since we can safely assume that it is a fundamental departure for a Muslim to convert to any brand of Christianity but not inconceivable for Christian Ethiopians to change denomination within the faith. Mr. Arega just assumed that Ethiopia is purely inhabited by Orthodox Christians, which is not too difficult to see throughout his writing. Whenever one makes assumptions that can not be supported with evidence or logic, it is obvious one is setting up himself or herself up for a target practice that will follow automatically. I will refer again to that particular phrase which is full of false assumptions. I know for a fact that there are Christian Ethiopians who do not belong or follow the Orthodox Church such as Catholics, Pentecost's, Seventh-day Adventists, etc. whom I suppose would find Mr. Arega's pronouncements offensive to the say the least. Isn't the right to choose ones' faith protected in Mr. Arega's ideal Ethiopia or should followers of other religions be ridiculed as instruments of some foreign ideology?

Mr. Arega should not be baffled at all if he accepts the soundness and fairness of a democratic system and governed by its rule. The Ethiopian Standardization Institute can easily come up with Amharic names to replace foreign terms, but maybe they found out long before Mr. Arega they can not impose such terms on others without their will and consent. Different regimes have come and gone in Ethiopia, but they have failed miserably in trying to impose their culture and tradition on other ethnic groups, however hard and forcefully they tried.

When I went to Ethiopia for the first time in 1994 after a longtime of forced absence, there were a number of things that caught my attention that were not present when I left in the late seventies. And one of them was the number of signs that were written in the Oromo language using the Latin alphabet in the city of Adama. Although I do not speak the language of the Oromos, I believe whoever decided to use the Latin alphabet made the right decision for the advancement of the language and more importantly to rid the yoke of feudal domination that was imposed upon the people. I am quite sure the Oromos are delighted to see their language getting its proper respect and used in all forms of communication, written as well as oral, in their everyday life. I am not in any way suggesting that the Oromo people have achieved everything that they have been fighting for, but hopefully I am witnessing the beginning of a phase in which they will be the true masters of their destiny.

Since I also belong to another minority ethnic group, I know first hand how it feels growing up in a place whereby a single ethnic group dominates every aspect of the cultural, religious and economic life of the country to the detriment of all others and thus gives one the feeling of being a foreigner in his own country. I am quite certain Mr. Arega does not share the same feeling since he has been the beneficiary of the bounty of the dominant culture. He just took it for granted that all Ethiopians are yearning for the same system that he is dreaming to implement oblivious of the fact that all ethnic groups are fighting for the same status he is trying to accord his own language, culture and religion.

I hate to dwell in Mr. Arega's thought process and make sense of what he writes, but I have come across scores of people who harbor the same thoughts and I found silence in the face of all this tantamount to endorsing and encouraging such beliefs. It does not help much when the editors of Addis Tribune dismiss Mr. Arega's piece as just amusing and the writings of a lunatic without the reasons for saying so. I do not object as to their assertion regarding his lunacy but the least they should have done was respond to some of his accusations since they initiated the subject that led to his endless tirade. So, let me direct the reader to another of Mr. Arega's assertion regarding foreigners in general and white Europeans in particular and here is what he has to say " … never forgetting for a single moment that the first and foremost objective of white historians is not history as such but the promotion of white interest via history - fabricated or otherwise".

How can someone in his "right" mind has the audacity to write such nonsense? I believe generalizations that can not be substantiated by evidence are just trash, unworthy of any further discussion. But I will make an exception and try to show the reader the fallacy of his argument. Logic 101 dictates that even if I find just one white historian who is true to his profession, Mr. Arega's whole assumption blows right in his face. Since his statement does not leave any room for exceptions, he believed everything he could imagine as a statement of fact and dismissed all the historical work done by white historians as unreliable and based on a hidden agenda that is in contradiction with the interest of the people they write about. Yes, it is really shameful, but that's the only logical conclusion one can draw from his senseless pronouncement. To illustrate my point, I will take as an example the role Dr. Pankhurst's played in spearheading the research in the department of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University.

Although I do not appreciates Dr. Pankhurst's partisan historical research and focus on a particular region of Ethiopia which almost borders on obsession to the exclusion of almost all others, we can safely assume that Mr. Arega is dismissing his work as baseless and without any foundation and merely serving the interest of his motherland at the expense of Ethiopia. I could have honestly argued that if you look at the writings of Dr. Pankhurst without the advance knowledge as to his background, one could hardly come up with an Ethiopian more patriotic than him. I doubt if Dr. Pankhurst is more knowledgeable about his native England than he is with the history of Ethiopia; and to summarily dismiss his monumental work as just a tool in the service of his motherland requires quite an imagination. Mr. Arega did not mention Dr. Pankhurst by name, but his premises leaves no room to think otherwise even for the likes of Dr. Pankhurst whom most Ethiopians consider as an ardent advocate for the cause of Ethiopia. Should we dismiss his work and that of all white historians just because of their color of their skin? I can understand if Mr. Arega harbors some degree of suspicion towards European colonizers who had come with a defined sense of purpose to rule by brute force in the past, but should we be blinded by so much unfounded hatred to the level of totally loosing our perspective?

The present government of Ethiopia, which is dominated by the Tigrean ethnic group has made a mockery of the plight of all ethnic groups excepting their own by pretending to address the question of Nationalities in a meaningful way and turning it upside down just to take advantage of and serve their own ultimate objectives. They have polarized all Ethiopian ethnic groups and made them fight within themselves and among each other to have a strong control across the land. The feudal ruling class and its followers have capitalized on this issue and have taken liberty by erroneously interpreting it as if all the ethnic groups do not want to deal with the issue of the right of nationalities because, according to their argument, it will lead to the destruction of the country. They tried in vain to convince everyone to do away with the right to have the use of ones' language, culture and religion on an equal footing with all others without any coercion and instead they argued to concentrate on the struggle for the unity of Ethiopia as if the two issues are diametrically opposed to each other. One can still fight for the right of nationalities and at the same time stand up for the unity of the country as a whole since these ideas are two sides of the same coin. We should not expect to trample upon the rights of nationalities and expect the same people to stand for the unity of the nation. A multi-cultural nation is devoid of its union if the parts that make up the union are not taken care of and relegated by the wayside as a none issue.

I ask the reader to allow me to change the subject and take a look at another area Mr. Arega chose to express his opinion and the subsequent lack of rationality that follows his assertions. In his earlier writing Mr. Arega was referring to 'the god of Ethiopia." And I honestly said to myself what is he talking about? Is Mr. Arega, unbeknownst to him, reverting to some kind of paganism here? I believe both Christianity and Islam have a universal God in mind when they refer to the deity. He takes liberty in using the term God without much of a thought as to the meaning, maybe he thought it had a nice ring to it. I don't know exactly why he did it. I have heard the name of God being invoked in strange ways to favor a group, a country, a team, a nation and so many other things that it makes you wonder if people are really praying to God to bestow them with his blessings or just "pressure" Him to take sides for their own benefit. A case in point is the phrase "God bless America"; a phrase that I have heard so many times while living in America uttered by almost everyone across the board. I do not have any problem with God blessing America with his bounty and all, and in fact I myself pray towards that goal at times since I am part of the population that enjoys that bounty. But is there a contradiction in praying and asking Allah to bless us all in the whole planet irrespective of our ethnicity, nationality, belief system, color, creed, sex, etc. . at least once in a while? If all of us believe in a universal God, I believe we should not bother Him with pork barrels here and there. Maybe Mr. Arega should take to time to reflect upon his faith and pray to the right deity since the gods he is referring to obviously are not taking good care of Ethiopia.

The reality in Ethiopia is changing daily, albeit painfully slowly, but all the same changing. We, as concerned citizens of this country, should strive to catch up to the changing dynamics and come up with solutions that take all the problems and contradictions into considerations. In order to have a true unity of our homeland, relations among the people of Ethiopia should be based on openness, fairness, respect and above all equality encompassing all spheres of our lives. And in order to achieve these ideals, we should have a minimum set of basic objectives that we should not even argue about.

Now, let me borrow a phrase from the totally-out-of-control Mr. Arega and flat out say that I hate to see anyone label me as anti-Amhara because I am truly the antithesis of that. In fact I have spent a quite great deal of effort at one time or another in my life trying my hand at writing Qene, prose poems and short stories in Amharic. Although not published, friends have given me their honest opinion saying "not bad at all" with some stressing the real potential for success. Therefore, I would like to consider myself as having contributed to the advancement of the language in some minute way. You see, I am not hear to tear down the language and culture which I have the utmost respect for, but my only concern is the struggle for fairness, equality and justice for all.

In order to have a society that is based on the tried out principles of democracy, let me put my two cents worth of ideas as a spring board for discussion that may contribute in some small way to achieve those goals. First and foremost, let us agree that there is no place for the feudal system of governance in the future of Ethiopia. Let us not have any illusion to resurrect the almost extinct order by any means. Mention should be made of the fact that the system was overthrown by the popular will and struggle of the people although power was stolen from them by another merciless dictator, which brings us to the second point. Let us do away with the foolish idea of bringing back the dictatorship of the military or any other form of oppressive government as an alternative to the present regime as carelessly and erroneously suggested by some, hopefully, well meaning individual. And this, of course logically brings us to the third point. Let us come into agreement to get rid of the system whereby one ethnic group dominates all aspects of life in the country to the detriment of all others once and for all. Let us not sneak in these ideas and all others in any form whatsoever by masquerading them as democratic, progressive and farsighted. These systems don't have history on their side to back them up as being good on the people imposed upon, and in my humble opinion we should leave them in a museum to educate future generations not to mess with.

At least those of us who have lived in countries other than our native Ethiopia should try to apply some of the good government and political processes that we have learned and abjectly lacking in our country. Although they have their ups and downs, we are living witnesses as to the effectiveness of the system in a number of western countries, of course, with minor adjustments made according to the realities of our country. Above all, we should be open to learn the history and culture of the people of our country whom Allah has blessed with abundance so that we can witness the emergence of a society that is based on mutual respect, fairness and equality. The diversity of the Ethiopian people is an opportunity given to us to show the rest of the world how truly civilized we are by overcoming the forces that is trying to hold us back and unleashing the power of friendship, respect for each other that we have exhibited for centuries.

I believe we have tackled some of the negative social ideas that we should avoid as an objective for a start and would like to turn my attention to the kind of social order that we should strive to build in our ideal Ethiopia. It is obvious that there is nothing novel or ground-breaking, as you will see, in the programs I have listed hereunder, but I believe we should remind ourselves that there are better ways to get out of our predicament and not that difficult to implement these noble goals if the leaders amongst us really, I repeat really, have the interest and welfare of the population in our hearts and pull our two heads together to give our country the proper and respectful place it deserves in the body of nations.

A. Establsih a democratic government. You see, there is nothing new in what I am proposing. And as I mentioned, the concept is very simple, plain, logical, just, fair, etc. But how come this objective eluded us for such along time? Webster's dictionary elaborates on the concept as " A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them". You may ask yourself, why should there be any other kind of political order other than that? We find the answer in what motivates individuals, groups, parties, etc. to be in a position of power. Some take to heart the word serve as putting themselves in the service of the people and others define it as serving themselves. It is as simple as that.

The present regime claims that it is an elected government because it came to power through fair and open elections, but the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians will take issue with that. We know for a fact that all past elections were rigged. I will quote Donald Brown of NCM News Service on his October 29, 2004 article on how the U.S. regards these elections: "The U.S. acknowledged that the 2000 national and 2001 regional elections were mostly free and fair but still tainted by voter intimidation, killings and disappearances and unlawful detentions of opposition party supporters, particularly in the southern region." It is only logical to conclude that any election that is going to be held under the tutelage of this government is going to be rigged again because we are already hearing the voices of opposition parties accusing the government of preparing to use the same old tactic of voter intimidation, fraud, manipulation, etc. Therefore, our objective should be to look for leaders in our midst who will look into the interests and trust them with authority of governing. Of course, first, we have to get rid of the ones in power. Certainly, not an easy job, but we have done it before and by the will of Allah and the will of the people, it will be done again.

B. Write a fair and just constitution for the nation. If we get over the first objective without much bloodshed and hopefully peacefully, we have done a great deal and needless to say, we are in the right course. That's the big Kahuna. I do not want to elaborate any further on this because if you have the time, please read the present constitution of Ethiopia. You will find very little that needs to be changed. The point I am trying to make is anyone can write a program, but what good is it if it is not followed? Therefore, let us put into practice what we already have. Since the constitution covers the major programs we need to follow to reach our objective, let me mention some of the items that need particular consideration regarding the situation in our country.

It is incumbent upon us to make sure that the government "…shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances…" Here I am directly quoting from the first amendment of the US constitution. I know this will infuriate Mr. Arega for copying from the white man again, but this is serious business and we should try to adhere to this principle to the letter. In order for any type of government in Ethiopia to function properly, it has to be secular favoring no particular religion, ethnic group, political party, etc. I hope we have a common understanding on this one. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church played a prominent role in the day to day activities of the government for centuries with clear advantages in the social, political and economic areas. We should be very clear that the government should be totally secular and neutral in the religious life of its citizens and treat everyone equally.

2. Wage War on Poverty, Disease and Ignorance

One of the major priorities of the government during the very first session of a democratic parliament should be to give us a clear picture of what it is planning to do to free us from our abject poverty. We need a concrete plan, in no ambiguous terms, on how we can achieve self sufficiency in agricultural production with a specific time lime. We should not settle for anything less on this one. Enough has been written about our poverty and famine and we have endured our share of jokes. Therefore, there should not be any argument to make this one priority number one. We should not also argue to make health care and education universal as they do here in the U.S. because I do not want to insult your intelligence by listing their respective merits. Suffice it to say that is the only way to free ourselves of poverty and the major criteria to become a civilized nation in the true sense of the word.

3. Reform the land holding system and privatize industry

Let us make this one very simple. The government should return all the land that was nationalized by the Dergue to their rightful owners and compensate those owners who permanently lost their property for any number of reasons. If we are in agreement as to the unfairness and injustice of confiscation of property by any government, we should not ignore this injustice and carry on with the attitude of business as usual. This is the only method I know for the new government to regain the respect and trust previous rulers have lost ages ago. The same goes for business and industry. The government should make it its business not to interfere in the affairs of the business community. It should have no part in owning or controlling any sectors of industry directly or in any other form. Its only objective should be to facilitate and encourage the environment for all sectors of industry to flourish.

4. Maintain and Strengthen the Federal System of Government with real power

It is not the concept of federalism that is fraught with problems; it is the motives and the methods used by governments in putting them into practice. It is an open secret that the only way the present ethnically based government of Meles Zenawi can cling to power is by utilizing the age old colonial formula of divide and rule; using it against all nationalities to pit one against the other. And what better way to divide the country other than pretending to be concerned for that right.

I have come across scores of people who argue that this system of government is fraught with contradictions and not suited to the realities of Ethiopia. I beg to differ with that assessment which is grossly lacking in substance. One such individual is Mr. Asratemariam, a frequent contributor to Addis Tribune. Opining on this subject, he wrote (January 2nd, 2004) and I will selectively quote the core of his argument:

"The logic of such an ethnocentric conception of the state and nature of human territorial behavior seems to be rooted in the leadership's worldview that Ethiopian society is more intimately linked to territory than other societies. …The division of the country into the so-called regional states is thus born out of the belief that the bonding between various peoples of Ethiopia and their geographical settings is stronger than a national geopolitical space… A cursory evaluation of ground realities in Ethiopia in the areas of democratic reform and the emergence of a pluralistic political environment does not lend credible support for any positive affirmation."

I do not believe that the bond individuals have towards their native land in any way contradicts or negates their loyalty and love towards the greater nation, as suggested by Mr. Asratemariam. On the contrary, a system of government that nurtures and develops their respective cultures should be a condition to strengthen the love of the people towards their country, particularly in the present reality of Ethiopia. We have numerous successful examples of countries who adopted the federal system of government and Ethiopia should be no exception. The main reason that the system did not function as successfully as it has been planned is the motive behind implementing it in the first place. People who are not rooted to their ethnic base do not have any resource to build their national identity and conversely an all rounded national figure is meaningless without the base that nurtured such individual. Weather we are comfortable or not or no matter our standing in society, we have to be proud of our heritage and build upon it to further the development of the nation as a whole.

The Ethiopian landscape is very suited for the application of the federal system since almost all the inhabitants of the various regions belong to a certain ethnic group with more or less similar culture. A hands free approach from the government in the daily affairs of the various federal regions would ensure the feeling of trust, loyalty, belongingness and true patriotism from the people it is representing.

5. Taxation and Tax Incentives

If there is an area the importance of which I would like to stress the most, it is the subject of taxation. A government without a tax base is like a fish out of water. The collection of tax and distribution of funds to the welfare of the nation is the life blood that powers the engine of society. I will be forthright and admit that I have no expertise in the area of taxation, but one needs no sophistication to realize the wrongs that are inherent in our society regarding the subject matter and I will express my layman opinion to shade a flicker of light.

The nation is caught in a dilemma with the tax system, if we are at liberty to call the crude disorder we have right now by that name at all. On the one hand, we have the government (this goes for all the previous governments too) trying to levy taxes on its citizens and businesses arbitrarily without providing any meaningful social services in return. And on the flip side, we have a population with a mentality of avoiding the burden of tax payment under any circumstance. We have a nation which is in a dire need of robust tax base to have aggressive economic growth to keep up with the increasing birth rate. But the present population growth which is expected to double in few decades is putting unbearable pressure on whatever meager tax the government collects to provide essential social services. We are caught in a catch twenty which explains why we are at the mercy of western donor nations not only in times of crisis, which we are experiencing perpetually, but for our daily needs as well.

Both the peoples' government and the citizenry have to get over their attitude toward taxation and equally contribute to the establishment of a model tax system which is fair, just, progressive and most of all beyond reproach. The government should strive to build a system which it can enforce uniformly without fail. And tax-payers should fundamentally change their attitude and take it as a duty and an obligation to shoulder this responsibility. In some western countries, it is not uncommon to find wealthy people and businesses paying as much as half their earnings in taxes. The consequence of not meeting their tax obligation is so severe that no one dare face the wrath of the taxing authorities who go by the book to enforce the tax laws. I have met honest American citizens who would not dream of shortchanging the government (people) by not paying anything less what they owe. Can we honestly say something similar about out people? I have heard of Ethiopians who made millions in their business dealings but have found their way in circumventing paying taxes by bribing corrupt individuals in the bureaucracy. A few years ago, the government itself admitted not collecting as much as a third of the tax outstanding for lack of an enforceable taxing system. If we let the lesse faire attitude we have towards taxation continue as it is, we, as citizens should forfeit to raise any issues about our nation because I question the seriousness of any such discussion.

6. Self Reliance

If there is one country that comes to mind as an example of achieving the highest degree of self reliance and re-defined the term, it should be Mainland China. After they triumphed over the Japanese occupation of their homeland in 1949, the Chinese under the leadership of Mao Tse Dung closed their doors to the outside world for over two decades and started building the nation from within with astonishing results. Before you arrive at any conclusion about my premise, let me say that I am not advocating communism or for that matter closing the borders of Ethiopia to imitate the Chinese. The Chinese found it necessary at the time to build their confidence, spirit, independence and sovereignty and show the world that they are a proud nation that can achieve any goals that they set their minds too. They tightened their belts, dirtied their finger nails and carried out their task to the end, of course with all the sacrifices entailed. We do not have to be Chinese or communists to learn from that lesson. Arguably, the unparalleled economic development that we are seeing now in China has its foundation in that sacrifice.

Not only the Chinese, but nations such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. with little to nothing natural resources but armed only with the determination of their human power have succeeded in accomplishing the same feat. They refused to incorporate the word impossible in their vocabulary and have earned the awe and respect of the world in their endeavor. The west crowned their achievements by calling them the Asian Tigers and we will call them, hopefully, to show us the ropes.

And of course the question is how do we learn from all these and apply it to fit our circumstance? As mentioned earlier, the solution lies in the concept of self reliance which we have seen put into successful practice in these countries. Countries such as Taiwan and Honk Kong have given a very fertile ground for small businesses to grow and contribute in the welfare of their respective nations. Tens of thousands of cottage industries employing less than twenty workers became the back-bone of their industrial strength. We do not have to embark on building large factories with enormous capital expenditures in a very competitive climate for investment, but we should train and utilize the ever increasing population by establishing the growth of these small scale enterprises and thus laying the ground work for sound economic development. Even an economy as large as the United States still heavily relies on the welfare of these mom and pop establishments to absorb those on the employment roll.

Where there is severe shortage of funds for structural investments in a country like ours, a great deal of effort should be expended to enhance the development of small scale businesses to stimulate economic growth and raise capital for all kinds of projects. The country is full of resourceful business people with the uncanny ability to create wonders given the opportunity. Even under a very hostile business climate that was created after the overthrow of Haile Sellasie, business oriented individuals have always found ways to flourish and expand their enterprises outsmarting the backward bureaucracy. Ethiopians in Diaspora who have created and successfully managed all kinds of businesses have proven these beyond any doubt. Given the right climate, the indigenous entrepreneur will create enough jobs to lift the country out of the unfortunate situation of never ending doldrums of economic stagnation it finds itself. The government has to change the prevailing attitude of throwing all kinds of obstacles on the face the entrepreneurial business spirit and instead vigorously engage in promoting and expanding these initiatives rather than always waiting for a handout from donor countries. Time and again, we have seen the futility of growing our economy by begging alms from the World Bank and other international institutions which often comes with all sorts of conditions that stifles real development and bankrupts the economy. All the poor countries which have fallen victims to these sinister machinations on the part of western countries find themselves at their mercy unable to pay even the low interest on these handouts let alone the principal, a large portion of which was never allocated for the project intended in the first place. Yes, we got relief of a good percentage of our debts from the powers that be who deliberately led us into that quagmire, but who is to say that we are not going to succumb into the same pitiful pit in the very near future? If we maintain the status quo, it is a matter of when but not if to find ourselves where we were not so long ago. Surely, the handouts from World Bank is not the formula for making a nation.

7. Build the Dam

Most people who visit our country for the first time are baffled by the contrast they see in the abundance of resource on the one hand and the abject poverty of the people on the other. I would unequivocally say that most of the blame goes directly to the successive governments that have ruled the country, enriching themselves to the total neglect of the population. It is no surprise that all these power mongers crowned themselves and stifled all sort of participation of the population in its affairs. The saddest part of all is none of these rulers have the foresight and atoms of care in their bloods towards their subjects and the nation; funneling all the foreign currency they stole from the treasury into foreign bank accounts.

As I see it, corruption comes in two forms. Some corrupt government officials look for their self interest first and everything