It is flabbergasting to hear CUD leadership invoke the Holy Month of Ramadan before they unleash what they termed their earth shaking demonstration to bring down Ethiopia's legally and constitutionally elected government. If this is meant to hoodwink Ethiopian Muslims in believing that the leadership at the helm of CUD is sensitive to the rights of Ethiopian Muslims, then I would say their futile attempt would not find a listening ear among the Muslim population. Using the month of Ramadan or any other sacred month for that matter, to entice Ethiopian Muslims through deceptive means is rather counter productive and cannot help CUD in mustering support. Ethiopian Muslims fully comprehend where their priority lies in regards to the recent election, and as such, they are monitoring the situation very closely to decipher who heeds to their call for equal opportunity and respect for their human rights and peaceful coexistence with their fellow citizens.

For us as Muslims, policies and objectives of a particular political party is more of interest than empty rhetoric. At this juncture, the incumbent government appears to be more accommodating and listening to the heart beats of the disadvantaged portion of the population. This is particularly true when it come to the rights of the Ethiopian Muslims. However, CUD on the other hand has not taken any concrete steps to address some of the injustice committed against the Muslim population. To appreciate this assertion, one has to simply look at the composition of the CUD and EPRDF and be the judge. While there is a handful of Muslims within the EPRDF, you can only see one Muslim within the CUD party, even though Muslims constitute more than half of the total Ethiopian population.

While I strongly believe that the responsibility of empowering and uplifting the situation of Ethiopian Muslims squarely lies in their realms, the steps taken so far by EPRDF albeit miniscule should be recognized by the Muslim population.

I therefore, think by manipulating the Holy month of Ramadan in order to entice the Muslim population, CUD is running the risk of being further rejected or some would say showing its true colour when it comes to the issue of representation. Using Ramadan as a pretext is therefore counter productive and does not serve their interest in either short or long term.

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