"The Woyane regime even to this day continues to have extremely questionable legitimacy. Upon its seizure of power in Addis Ababa in 1991, it was a ragtag of mostly illiterate peasant army recruited from a minority Tigrean ethnic group, with NO experience in political governance and international diplomacy, coming more with a sense of vengeance against the majority than with a cool-headed and genuine desire to bring about change. There is ample evidence that it was acting collusively with Shabia, that most of the agreements affecting Ethiopia's national interest between these two groups were not the results of democratic public deliberations, but exclusively the results of secret deliberations between Meles and Isaias. Nobody to this day, except perhaps the conspirators themselves, knows the real content of these secret agreements and as a result Ethiopians are to this day left in the dark about a matter of national concern affecting them, their children, and above all, their beloved country"
(emphasis mine) ...Writes a certain Teodros Brehan from Fairfax, Virginia, USA (Dagamwi's webpage, July 30, 2000).

Absolutely false statements, such as this, from arrogant individuals who hate civil discourse in their rush to send their divisive messages, must be challenged. They should be told that Woyane Tigrai is not EPRDF or TPLF. Moreover, we would like them to know that individuals, such as Meles Zenawi, do not have ownership rights on Woyane Tigrai. Woyane is of the people of Tigrai. The people are the sole owners of their social revolution. In this piece I would like to make this fact clear and thereby send a message to those who, intentionally or ignorantly, try to twist the historic fact to meet their malicious motives.

We Will Never Be Complacent

After I read Teodros' article, I was amazed and said, "Here we go again! Goshu Woldie and the likes are back!". It is good, they are sending messages to tell us not to be complacent. But, we know that our people do have neither the material wealth nor the time space for smugness at this historically pivotal juncture. Although the messages of these doomsday-sayers are good reminders, we would like to tell them that the people of Tigrai are well aware of the fallacious activities of certain self-serving social elements.

Teodros' article reflects Goshu Woldie's statement that he gave in 1991 to an American Congressional Committee, which was reviewing the Ethiopian political climate after the demise of Mengistu Hailemariam and his cronies that included Goshu. Of course, the committee was entrusted to make recommendations for the development of American foreign policy on Africa. It had nothing to do with the well being of Ethiopians. In any case, by then a fugitive in America and ex-foreign minister of Mengistu Hailemariam, Goshu Woldie, was one of the invited expert witnesses. To date, I found it difficult to erase from my memory the pomposity he exhibited and the barrage of insults he hurled at Woyane Tigrai.

The tone and contents of written pieces and casual talks of these monarchists, opportunists, pseudo-nationalists, chauvinists, and useless elitists reveal their skewed mentality that they are the only true-nationalist Ethiopians. The fact, however, is that, incapable of accomplishing anything tangible, these elements only brood over all the troubles Ethiopia goes through from their luxury vantage points in America and Europe. In their daydreams, they are the only ones who are the masters of: (i) international law; (ii) history of Ethiopia; and (iii) the socio-politico-economic strategies that usher in peace and prosperity for our Motherland, Ethiopia. They think that they possess the panacea for all ills of our society. They categorize the rest of us into two: (a) the less capable and the less nationalists than they are and (b) the conspirators, who hatch "collusive and secretive arrangements" against our country.

Particularly, when it comes to the successful social revolution of Tigrai, they prefer to undermine it by belittling its leadership, using any possible strategy they could master. Because their hatred, arrogance, and ignorance are so deeply rooted, it is hard for them to realize that Woyane Tigrai has become a model and a foundation of the social revolutions of all Ethiopia's nations and nationalities.

What is the ultimate goal of these groups? The answer is simple. The motive force behind all the blah-blah is to turn Ethiopia back to either the decadent, feudo-bourgeois aristocratic system or to their own style of dictatorship. To this end, they are testing various strategies. Two of their latest strategic objectives are (a) to demean true nationalists and (b) to undermine Woyane Tigrai. To meet these objectives, they are persistently playing the ethnic and the Assab cards as instruments. They see no merits in democratic-constructive engagements: they do not want to play by the rules of the modern game, democracy.

What is amazing is their purposeful evasion of the historic fact that Tigrai is Ethiopia and Ethiopia is Tigrai; and, accordingly, Tigrians' devotion to their country, Ethiopia, is as strong as that of any true Ethiopian nationalist. Nevertheless, the activities of these reactionary groups send cautionary messages that tell the people of Tigrai in particular and other Ethiopians in general not to be complacent. In the presence of internal and external enemies complacency does not have any place.

Now, let us proceed to a short lesson on Woyane Tigrai. This lesson is only for those who would like to discuss issues (not persons) in order to understand Woyane's sociopolitical effects; and hence, its successes.

Woyane: a People's Revolution

In our modern Tigrai society, Woyane is a very important Tigrigna word. It is playing a pivotal role of social transformation. Without going into an analysis of the sociological and psychological intricacies, its simplest translation is people's revolution. Hence, woyanai means a revolutionary, while woyenti is its plural form (i.e., revolutionaries). Then, woyin!, with a strong commanding voice (exclamation), means stand up and rebel (resist).

The root causes of Woyane Tigrai are very obvious. Generally, exploitative production relations, class-based socioeconomic structures (i.e., social and economic strata of the privileged and the down trodden); and repressive political institutions create an excellent breeding ground for a successful social revolution. In pre-Woyane Tigrai, i.e., during the era of Emperor Haile Selassiethe, the peasantry was the backbone of the socioeconomic landscape. The feudo-bourgeois, aristocratic system was characterized by crucial objective contradictions. Although peasants were the primary producers, they had to bear varying combinations of: taxes, rents, corvee, tribute, usurious interest rates, cash, and share-cropping. Keep in mind, according to the strategic policies of both governments of Emperor Haile Selassie and Mengistu Hailemariam, establishing any type of industrial infrastructure and higher education institutions in Tigrai was not allowed.

In short, the social, economic, and political realities that prevailed in the 1970s determined the strategic directions of Woyane Tigrai. Under the slogan, "Our struggle is long and bitter", the revolution had to be a social revolution of the peasantry. The founding fathers of the struggle went to the people (the peasants), lived with them, and learned from them. They also shared (discussed) with them the objective contractions that subjected Tigrai to backwardness, with an abject poverty and all other evils of mankind. In effect, they (the founding fathers) put into use the indigenous (local) knowledge. Through this strategy of mobilization of the masses, a highly charged national consciousness developed throughout Tigrai. A spirit of strong bondage, trust, and comaraderie were forged among all involved in the struggle. These conditions led Woyane to be the only successful social revolution in Ethiopia. Today, the people of Tigrai highly value the achievements of their bitter struggle. They are determined to stand steadfastly on guard of their Woyane for eternity. The founding fathers and all the rest of us will die. But, Woyane is eternal. Its torch will be passed on to generation from generation to generation... continue!

A.G.

10-Aug-2000