First and foremost I would like to congratulate Ato Hailu Shawl and his team for transforming AAPO to All Ethiopian United Party. To me it came late, however, it is timely. What you did is a timely bombshell to the enemies of Ethiopia like TPLF/EPLF who will bow down until all Ethiopians get rid off them. Folks it is not too far. Ato Hailu I am sure there are few extreme nationalities in your Organization that are not happy of the change you made. I also understand it was a painful decision to you and your team to arrive at this juncture of your history to reach to such decision but you have no any other choice but to go forward in order to regain our Ethiopiawinet taken away by internal and external enemies of our beloved country "MOTHER ETHIOPIA" and to join the other sisterly Ethiopian Organizations. It is understandable you will have an up hill battle in front of you, and I hope you will fight the extremists to keep the new name intact since the truth is on your side and your team. I also hope others will follow suite.

Lately I am disturbed to hear and read why certain organizations and radio stations have chosen to poison the road to Unity. I have read the articles of Ato Elias Kifle of EDP, Tuffa Bula and Dr. G. Bekele mixed with sadness and amusement. About Nesanet radio let me say this. I used to listen to their broadcast on the Internet but these days like you all, to listen to them makes me sick especially one of the host’s named Lesanu who seems extreme/narrow, which ever way you take it, nationalist and who seems to hate all Tigries because of TPLF and these days he has also targeted EDP. When the Task force marched to New York on March 25, 2002 I remember the speaker on behalf of all Ethiopians was H.E. Ato Belai Abai and this very radio station trashed the old man of 73 years accusing him as self-appointed individual with no respect at all by addressing him as ‘ante’. This very person also suggested further on his radio show that the speech should have been delivered by Ato Wondayehu Kassa, the AAPO representative and instead of by Ato Belai. Do you see what I mean? Lisanu is vulgar, out of control, hypocrite and a disrespectful individual. He should not be a radio host at all. For the last three weeks his guest was Professor Tilahun Yilma another Tigre basher. I admire his knowledge and professionalism but he has to learn a lot about politics and it is no good to be bookworm & a scientist alone. The Prof. has to be realistic. The political situation of our country and for that matter elsewhere is not the same anymore. Please expand your political horizon further. Do not blame others blame yourself for being anti Tigre. We are fighting their ethnic & divisive policy that is imposed on our people not because Isais is from Asmara or Abiu Gellata is from Lekmpti and Melese is from Adwa. We do not like what they do to our country in the name of our people & country to hang on to power for the sake of power. Such people who are intentionally blinded themselves, cannot see things beyond their nose. What a pity? What a curse? Sometimes I wonder why we Ethiopians bothered to go to school. How could one accuse the entire people of Tigray and including the people from the rebel province because of Meles & Isyas dirty deeds when we all know that TPLF/EPLF are backed by countries like USA & Britain etc. to neocolonize us? Isn’t that a fact Prof.? This is sickness. Both need to see that is, the Professor and Lisanu a psychiatrist before it is too late. Nasanet radio our Unity will go on despite individuals like you and your sponsor "Fasika Hotel"because of your petty political stand. I may not agree with EDP’s political view but as an Ethiopian political organization they have every right to join the task force if they want, if they do not want also it is their right to do so. Because they have questions about certain organization credibility that does not mean that they are pro Woyne and anti Unity. To the contrary they stand for Unity from my reading and investigation. Incidentally I love Ethiopia and Ethiopians (including my Amharic speaking Ethiopians) from all regions more than you do, impostors surrounding yourselves with an Ethiopian flag no matter from which ethnic background they come from. Stop lashing away organizations and individuals that are anti Woyne and stop dividing people on the basis of ethnicity like Meles & Co.

Now let me come to EPRP that the trio mentioned and accused in their articles. It is well know to the readers that the present EPRP as a political organization has both a leadership & a membership deficiency. Most of their members are opportunists, yes people no question asked and some are even immature, as you might have noticed in meetings in every city of North America. A good example is the person that represents them in the DC area and now he has become a secretary of the task force that denied EDP to participate in the meeting that took place on August 18, 2002. Shame on you, it is true that you have denied them to participate by manipulating the rest of the members. It reminds me of an old saying. "Do not trust a silent man & a silent water". The task force should have not allowed this to happen in the first place. Now the task force will have a big problem in front of them if they do not correct their mistakes very soon. If you continue to be dictated by the present EPRP leaders or delegates definitely you will lose your support very soon and the question of unity will be watered down and thus making the Woynes happy. The problem of EPRP became visible after the EPRA (the army wing) left the "meda’ in disarray in 1980. Most of the brains of EPRP were killed in 1969 by Derg and MEISON including Dr. Tesfaye Debassay who was the most matured, very humane, a philosopher, accommodating, farsighted and understanding person among the central committee and politburo members. Since his death and the others, things did not work out the way they should have. If you noticed the present leaders do not even mention his name to this date either on their paper or radio. In 1980 vicious individuals hijacked the Organzatiation and could not recover from those maladies until now. That is why you see them in every meeting disturbing the mood of the conference. Most of the members (EPRP & EPRA) who are still alive have left them and they were not and still are not able to get their support. EPRP has more brains among the ex-members than the present few members that they have but the present leaders will not accept the truth because their ego is bigger than the organization they say they represent. They fear to lose power. I have no idea why they accuse others, as over ambitious & egocentric when they are the worst ones. Most of us have tried our best to criticize them constructively but to no avail instead they turned deaf ear on our comment. I have tried my best not to expose EPRP for so long, unfortunately I have reached a point of no return because to my likes & me Ethiopia and Ethiopians are more important & greater than Party organizations.

I have also read Ato Melaku Tegegne’s interview he gave to the local paper in Addis, the short Amharic version on ethio-zena and the English translation from Aiga the pro Palace Internet. I do not agree when he said there are not credible opposition parties that could replace Woyne at this time. Wrong, there are a lot of Ethiopians who are far better that Woyne that can take over anytime, old & young. This ex-cc member of EPRP who has been struggling since his student days has become a total opportunist and I might add a disgrace to himself by becoming a political prostitute. I have no idea what criteria they used to make him a c.c. member in the first place. No wonder why the Organization failed miserably so fast. This particular person worked as a c.c. member with Iyasu hand and glove during the hay days of the Party in London where he was studying including his friend Abdul Mejid and Mamo Muchie as foreign committee members of EPRP ( both ex-EPRP members), although I have no idea as to why he left the Organization. It seems that he is also at odd with Professor Mamo Muchie who was his friend & roommate in those good old days. Even then he should have not opened his mouth in favour of Woyne no matter what difference he had with his comrade, Iyassu. Melaku why did you not voice your grievance in 1980/84 when the c.c. members met and got rid off Zeru Kehishen & Kiflu Tadesse the vetran c.c. members & when Mersha and Mohamed were made c.c. members in 1984? Second of all if you are honest person, although I doubt that you are why don’t you tell your readers who was the real ‘betagne’ of EPRA is? I also totally disagree with you what you said about Mersha. Unklike Iyasu, Mersha has fought in the countryside with EPRA and you know very well that he was wounded by TPLF when he was fighting. Although he is arrogant at times he is the only credible c.c. member that the present EPRP has, forget about the two brothers & their hunchback. Mersha has deep love about his country and his people provided that he stops appeasing opportunists. He is surrounded by opportunists within the present membership that I call blind loyalists but I do not know much about the others too surround he how dedicated they are except that I see in them that they want to take credit at the expense of the previous c.c. members by belittling their work & contribution and sacrifice they made during those deadly years. Some are alive and some are not with us any more. I agree with you what you said regarding the present members. The present EPRP members are not as qualified as the former members are, and it is sad, they will never have a dedicated and responsible members in the future either, as long as the present leaders are around. The best and the brightest members have perished both in the cities and in the ‘meda". Those who are still alive do not want to associate themselves with the present leadership. When the so called present leaders wither away, may be then EPRP may resurrect with fresh leaders and timely program. Personally I have no problem with the Organization itself as such but like most of my friends we do not see eye to eye with the present leadership because they have disgraced our dead friends as well as to those of us who are still alive. EPRP can only be a credible Party with the right leadership. Right now, no body wants them except the fools around them. Dear netters do your own investigation to know more about the history EPRP the good and the bad things they did, but personally EPRP is the first Party in the history of our country whether you agree with their program, or political ideology or not, at this time considering the situation of our country is in, is irrelevant, let history and the new generation judge us in the future. Give credit where credit is due. EPRP has laid the foundation for a Party Organization in our country and that is why you see political parties emerging and mushrooming in large numbers, although I disagree to have so many political organizations for a country like Ethiopia. Tuffa Bula, I have no answer to your question but as you said I have noticed long enough that the present leadership does not like to see new organization to emerge even if they emerge they will start attacking or belittling them. Whether they are doing what they are doing out of inferiority/superiority complex or out of envy Heaven knows. For sure either they have psychological problem or they have sinned. I can’t see any other reason for now. Those of you who attended EDP’s meeting in Washington D.C. on July 5, 2002 you have seen how their members were behaving. Personally, I was not happy when Ato Lidetu tried to discredit the past and present politicians by accusing everybody as if we were the ones that brought TPLF to power and that we were at fault. Further he said you cannot control us by remote control from North America or Europe what we should do and what we shouldn’t. I hope by now he has slowed down from such rhetoric. Absolutely I did not like his tone at all but that did not give me the right to accuse them as anti-unity. Before I leave from this topic to be fair I want to challenge Ato Melaku once again when he said Iyasu left his country 33 years ago. With due respect he left his beloved country because he was not able to work freely for the good of his country and people then. What is wrong with that? What kind of accusation is this? On the other hand I do not like his vindictive personality, behaviour & attitude and like his friend Berhane Meskel Reda he has a big ego to be a leader. By the way BMR was the first leader for the crocodile groups in the 1964 that included Zeru & Gebru Gebrewolde then, when the so-called radical groups were born. The latter two are alive but they are out of EPRP circle, now living their own life in Europe & LA. He has disgraced the Party and manipulated the membership. His style of leadership is my way or the highway. Such attitudes of leadership these days do not work at all. That is where I disagree with him not because he left his country 30 years ago but the way he also treated EPRA members who left the Sudan in1980 together with his other friends in including you Melaku after the army wing was disintegrated. It is obvious the present EPRP is a one man’s show, he is the leader, the secretary, the treasurer, and the PR backed by his blind loyalists and not by real members per se. You can prove my statement if you are sharp observers in such places like D.C., LA, Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, Toronto & elsewhere, whereas the former EPRP C.C. & Politburo members believed in collective leadership because they were working underground. They did not have the support of Derg like MEISON did that allowed them to work overground and could not name their leaders as such who is who. This is really obvious to any fair mined person or persons. I hope this will provoke further discussion, I mean reasonable & intellectual discussion, both by insiders, outsiders & ex-members for the sake of our people & country to purify our mind from political diseases & illness. Of course opportunist individuals are not welcomed to comment because I know what they will write. We should be able to avoid building individual egos and allow them to commit heinous crime against our people. Ethiopia and our people are greater than individuals. It may sound simplistic but it is true. We cynical call it ‘EPRP of the trio’. It is up to the readers to figure out who the trios are.

Finally I have an advice to Getachew Redda. I like you as an Ethiopian but make no mistake when you talk about EPRP. Many of us have no problem with the Party per se because we have passed through that Organization since our student days. We do not need opportunists to tell us that EPRP is untouchable. You know very well after your brother, Berhne Meskel Redda betrayed EPRP, the EPRP that you know is not the same. That is why we are having the problem that I mentioned above. Few selfish individuals who are power hungry monopolized the present EPRP. As to Abrham Yayeh, he betrayed TPLF and went to Asmara and again he betrayed Ethiopia by allying himself with Isyas Afwerki. He is a total opportunist. As to Nesanet radio listen the three interviews of Prof. Tilahun gave to Lisanu and listen what they said about EDP and be your own judge. As to the rest of my fellow Ethiopians let us all fight to bring UNITY to save our people and our country from disintegrating further. Be active and stop being passive. When you see disruptive individuals in a meeting you have to participate and challenge them. It is no good blaming them after you leave the meeting. We should also make sure that the newly Ethiopian task force is not going to be derailed by over ambitious organizations. We should all feel duty bound that they do their work on behalf of all Ethiopians democratically with honesty and integrity. In short there should be a check and balance policy in place to see they are doing what they promised us to do. In my experience honesty and sincerity in politics doesn’t pay & did not pay either in the past. This is true universally. In any political organization opportunists are the worst enemies of their country & their people more so than the leaders themselves. That is why we Ethiopians suffer from such sickness because we have produced more political opportunists than actual leaders compared to any other country in the world since 1974. In conclusion I would like to remind the readers not to under estimate the contribution EPRP had made as an Organization since Nehasie 5, 1967 or Aug/1975 although the Party is still faced with leadership & membership deficiency. Those who wanted to bring change for the good of the people perished early in the revolution and those who had a hidden agenda hijacked the revolution and disgraced us all as I mentioned above.

Oh God! Bless Ethiopia with all its nationalities.

August 25/2002