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This is the year I hope the book will be out. This page is not about the date or celebration, but another project for the next year -- what is the future of Ethiopia in the next century and millennium? How do you see it? What is to be done? What the plans must be? Write.

see 1975 and page "Remember" at Haile Sellessaie WWW

Ethiopia 21: Peace is the product of War of Ideas

4) Let's agree the legacy of ethnic predudice was necessarily part of the evil ethiopia sufferred since before the revolution of 1974; though not completely eliminated, the cultural development of the ethnic groups was at the forefront, its role in the political scene curbed and ethiopiawinet was much more emphasized after the revolution up until the ascent of the TPLF and its ethnocentric constitutional arrangement.

From one of the posts on EthioForum....

What Ethiopia needs is to make peace with its history. The evil past (some go as far as 1865 in search of the source of Eritrean problem) is the past that made Ethiopia a nation. Reference to this past as an obstacle for ethiopiawinet is illogical, that was the time when all the nations of modern Ethiopia were brought together. It was done in the fashion of the old history through wars and supression, like everywhere else in the world, which knew nothing about human rights and political correctness. It is time to accept the past and fight the battles of the present. The modern norms of justice can't be imposed on centuries gone. The future will judge us on the basis what we did with our problems, not the problems of the past.

Interesting that the socialist ideology of the Dergue is still active even after it failed to hold the country during the 17 years of the experiment with marxism. The present government with all its evil is a blessing for the country, comparing with the time of the Dergue. It all points at the year 1974, the revolution, which is still not fully embeded in the national phychie. The doubletalk meaning of "Ethiopia Takdem" was never understood as a call for a total war on Ethiopia and everithing Ethiopian. The success of EPLF and TPLF is due to the 17 years of destruction of Ethiopia, when even the huge army couldn't function any longer. By 1990 the country was at the deadend; the Soviet patron with the its ideology vanished and Ethiopia was left with no values to defend.

Not in a single book I could find the possitive assessement of the period known as Era of Princes (something Somalia is living through today). Cultural diversity, ehtnicity and, yes, self-determination, are fashinable slogans. Perhaps Europe and US with the well developed state and social structures can affort the exesses of fragmentation. Financial and economic system of the West continue its concentration and that alone give more room for further democratization of social institutions. Ethiopia has no real financial structure and an introduction of Eritrean currency becomes enough reason to throw everything out of balance and even into a war. To ask Ethiopia to be democratic in a style of US is no less an absurd than to force a socialist model onto the country. There is no such a thing as a "democracy" -- it is always specific unique democracy; in Frence it is French and in Ethiopia it must be Ethiopian democracy.

The most recent war is another example that the fundamental question is not answered -- What is Ethiopia? Eritreans do not think that they are Ethiopians. The cultural war with Amhara is still going on. Even over the language! Quibec can entertain the idea of leaving Canada, it is an integrated North American (and global) economical entity. Here in Alaska we have Indepent Party (third in numbers), which advocates for seccesion from the United States of America. They are Americans, most of them even not born in Alaska, and Alaska can separate itself and live off the oil, but it is and always will be America and Americans. Because not the state, but culture gives us identity.

Last time I went through the big funding proposal for Ethiopiawinet organization with Dr. Gebre-Sellassie in 1994, right before we went to Ethiopia. There were all the neccessery statements about democracy and unity, but I could find the answer -- what is "Ethiopianess"? References to the past when different nations lived next to each other for centuries can't serve as model for the future. "Ethiopianess" must be developed and believe that this is the process Ethiopia experiences since Teodoros. Modern Germany or Italy are the products of the new national ideas, which were put in action around the same time. Bavarians became Germans first and Cicilians -- Italians. Did Prussians lost their Prussian identity after they became Germans, or on the contrary they became more Prussians after they became Germans?

"Ethiopianess" is not behind, it's ahead. It has to be formed no less than the economy of Ethiopia. It is always a process. It has to be done in peace times in order to avoid the war as an instument of national self-identification.

Anatoly Peace

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