From obbo BULCHA DEMEKSA, CHAIRMAN, OFDM
MESSAGE
My message to the men and women of our country at this time is to receive the third Millennium with optimism and resolve to work hard and improve their conditions. The last 2000 years are evaluated differently by different people. Some think that the last 2000 years were, by and large, years of glorious renaissance for our country. This contrasts not only with the widespread slavery, serfdom and forced labor of the past, but also with the current reality wherein some nations, nationalities and peoples are subjected to discriminations of all kinds. So, today, we, as a nation, are entering the next Millennium with scars of our past. Details are not necessary and not helpful.
Looking only at the past would deter us from moving forward with vigor to modernity, science and technology. I do not mean that we should forget history. We must not forget history, lest we loose sight of the future.
If some leaders or groups in our country become greedy and desire to exercise power indefinitely in a similar manner as our past leaders, political and social chaos would be inevitable.
In order to move forward as a nation, we must heal the wounds as we enter the new Millennium. We must make a national effort to reconcile at all levels of our society. Our South-African brothers and sisters have taught us how to heal wounds. Their institution of Truth and Reconciliation has saved them so far from bloodshed and political chaos. We, in Ethiopia, must also forgive each other and reach a national consensus that, henceforth, we will choose the democratic path. Our people must choose their leaders directly. It is deceptive to let our representatives choose our ultimate leaders. We must know our leaders and elect them. Our leaders must be those who have won our respect through their own achievements.
It is imperative to respect the current Constitution until our people amend it through a referendum. Our leaders should not violate the Constitution and expect the people to respect it. It is never possible to deceive the people for a long time. It is always a cause for conflict when the leaders tell the people one thing and do another.
Leaders must not aspire to lead the nation for too long. The term of office of leaders must be clearly provided for in the Constitution. Such a law must be meticulously observed. It is of no value to say that democracy does not work in poor countries. Yes, it can work. Anybody who is interested can take time and read about the Oromo Gada democratic system.
Our people are diverse not only culturally, linguistically and economically, but also in their histories. Those who were victims in the past systems, cannot be expected to wipe clean their past by simply being told “forget the past”. There must be an exorcising process. This does not have to be done only at the eve of the Millenium. A continuous cleansing system must be instituted. This is absolutely essential because we cannot be sincere if we act as though all grievances have been washed away by some magical stroke.
As regards the political and economic systems which are in place now, some skeletal work has been done. It is necessary to work on that skeleton with a sense of justice, equality, forgiveness, practicality and fairness. For example, the Federal system stands out as the only political option for Ethiopia. Nations, nationalities and peoples must have a sense of sovereignty. There cannot be a successful government while some of our people feel squeezed, left out and marginalized. The purpose of Reconciliation is to minimize these feelings and aim at abolishing them.
Ethiopia has the potential for a peaceful existence as a nation state. After all, the various categories of our people have a lot in common. The fact that we live in a defined geographical area is our binding factor. Most of us have called ourselves “Ethiopians” since the last two centuries of the last Millenium. An important factor is that we are all Africans. No other people have succeeded to settle among us. The two major religions have coexisted for much of the two millennia without a history of protracted conflict. Conflict on the basis of languages has not been a feature of our history since the “new” Ethiopia emerged around the beginning of the nineteenth century. Coexistence with dignity, mutual respect and democracy as a political solution is not such a preposterous idea. This is what our global neighborhood advises us, because our catastrophe can be their crisis. The First and Second World Wars, the Korea War, the Congo conflict, the Bosnia War and the Burundi Massacre are all
examples of crisis of world proportion in which the conscience and resources (human and material) of even the developed world have been consumed. We are 80 million people and our political catastrophe can hardly remain within our boundaries, thus the concern of the international community could be understood. Let us also use this period in our history as an opportunity to ponder on our options and act, among other things, as the people and Government of South Africa acted.