[By Bereket Kiros, TLM editorial board]
In the last few hours after our regular weekly show, we have learnt more about the activities of a few individuals who have called themselves supporters of TPLF. We have also learnt about the manipulation of those individuals who hide themselves behind a cyberwall—the Likes of Muller despicable twist of the truth. It is not controversial to suggest that a person who does not care much about truth would not care much about personal integrity. Personal integrity and honesty are among the virtues anyone desires to cultivate. The cost of trivialising truth and tolerating lies is monumental, both on a personal and on a national level.
The silence of the Tegaru public bears a large share of the blame for the current affairs in Tigrai. We do hope the die-hard supporters of the newly created chat rooms by the likes of the good professor who used his pen. As a Muller, refrain from an aggressive, out-of-touch, and disproportionate hate campaign and instead dwell on issues of paramount significance to Tigrai and become constructive and effective citizens to reckon with for the betterment of the life conditions of all our compatriots. Otherwise, Tigrai, which some adherents of the old guard espouse, might end up at the end in an embarrassing outcast persona.
Defeatists normally deploy themselves to destructive ploys by generating desperate acts. The vast spectrum of lies and deception that have been deliberately infused into the public by ostracised individuals who are deeply resentful and have become fathers of all lies by undermining the ongoing Interim Administration waged against the leadership. It is sad to say but nonetheless true that those individuals helped create the conditions in which the current war was to be ignited. As the French philosopher Alain Badiou put it, the truth is “indifferent to difference” and in its essence universal in nature—it is not impressed by ethnicity, nationality, or Awraja: truth is “the same for all.”
Even when it comes to our own Diaspora politics, what I read from the vociferous and often sever statements of my critics is his uncalled slurs and trash language. The problem of social ills can be easily seen in the likes of Muller. Under any standard of test of stability and security, a country that harbours so many groups, with some of the groups either engaged in character assassination or leaning in that direction, does not endear confidence in anybody. We are not providing here an updated day-to-day situation, the avalanche of insults from those desperate individuals. It suffices for us to see that we really need to take our conflict with a degree of practicality and equity.
We should be ready to see problems in a holistic manner and not just pursue one-sided interests driven by hate and greed. We must point out that the conflict has gone beyond such a cooperative solution because the conflict is orchestrated evermore due to the attack on individuals who speak truth about the Tigray’s visionless leaders, giving priority to their power at the expense of the people’s interests. They lack ethical standards in reporting balanced news, and their contempt for our elected officials under the guise of freedom of speech and expression is nothing more than a gambit to cover their main intentions to submit to chauvinistic and power-hungry maniacs. Their half-baked truths might only impress Sebhat Nega.
Democracy is a principle by which to fortify and build, not divide, societies. The people of any group have democratic rights not to be excluded and barred. In a democracy, the citizenry that pays the price of war has greater say in what the government does. This is to remind those unprincipled and spineless pseudo-intellectuals to stop your unquestionable obedience, subordinate relationship, and hasty concussion.
It is a sad situation that TPLF and their supporters are incubating and simply trying to blind us from taking corrective steps by giving us false narratives. It is tailor-made to protect the corrupt and criminal old guards of the TPLF leadership. Simply put, TPLF leaders are acting as criminal bosses without regard to the common good for society. No one man or political organisation had devastated Tigrai as much as the TPLF political organisation. We are not writing here about the suffering of millions of Tegaru whose human rights and political rights are abused or violated daily, but about much more serious processes of the destruction of the very fabric of Tigrai as a nation and political, economic, and cultural entity.
“ጋንግሪን እዮም ተቖሪፆም ክድርበዩ ኣለዎም” is absolutely wrong. TPLF and its supporters have the right to exist. Any campaign to dismantle any political party, including the TPLF, does not nurture the culture of democracy in Tigrai. Democracy thrives on the coexistence of diverse political ideas and institutions, fostering a culture of tolerance (tolerance is the key to sustaining that).”
We would like to point out to our readers that we are running dangerously low in the matters that keep us alert and afloat! There was nothing to echo and nothing to yearn for in the dramatised second-rated misplaced phrase. The fatigued eyes and exhausted mind have discovered nothing after going through the video we have presented. We have disappointed the distinguished professor for his rusty and futile attempt to describe by taking a phrase without context.
We can end the saga of our people suffering and enhance the prospect of peace by putting an end to the provocative mind-boggling of opportunists the likes of Muller and enabling Tigrai to reclaim its future. The discussion we presented is to raise issues and awareness of the past and present of Tigrai leadership return to outmode ugly devise image to misleading insult by TPLF watchdogs.
Muller’s political messages and the problems that one wishes to see in Tigrai are all said clearly in our video presentation. Even though Muller has pointed out the wishful thinking of one extreme group who is crying to grab power that undermines the Pretoria agreement. This is causing the present predicament that we are in. We must admit that Muller has made himself a unique Tigraian activist basher.
Muller wants to be the only Tigraian who dares put the blame on the TPLF politburo, as do most Tigraians. We will never rub the faults and sins of TPLF; we still believe TPLF will remain as a party, but not this leadership that confessed day in and day out their strategic failure. What is wrong with this cancerous “ጋንግሪን if it is removed from power? He avoids implicating the innocent Tigraian people with any regional or national crises brought by the leaders.
We do not have to fight, tooth and nail, to convince each other whether TPLF committed the most atrocities or the most treason. We believed it was a distortion of facts by an entrenched and highly polarising group of people with their elites and supporters. We envision a far better Tigrai that we could all claim as our own than the vision of those self-promoting groups. It is such a glorious vision for Tigrai that prompted all our weekly presentations. The vision of a glorious Tigrai is something to behold and aspire for as a realistic future reality. We are being cynical, which comes naturally to Tegaru, who has watched such events before. Let us welcome the wind of change in the all-inclusive, nonpartisan, and levelling field politics and good governance in Tigray. The trick is to keep burning, like a candle protected from the wind, like Muller.
A thank you to all our followers at TLM for enduring with us week after week. We hardly ever express our love and appreciation to each other. We want to take this opportunity to say to all my Tegaru brothers and sisters that we love every single one of you. God bless our beloved Tigrai.