Meles Zenawi's Delusions of Grandeur

[Castro]

Sophia Tesfamariam

January 5, 2007

 

The Tigrayan minority regime in Ethiopia, which waged an unprecedented propaganda campaign exalting its prowess and might as it conducted its illegal war of aggression and invasion against the Union of Islamic Courts militia using various pretexts, including “defending Ethiopia’s sovereignty”, “routing terrorists”, “crushing extremists”, etc. etc. in violation of international law, UN Security Council Resolution 1725, the African Union Charter and boasting of “victory against Islamists”, now wants the “international community” to bail it out of its self made quagmire and finance its illegal occupation of sovereign Somali territories.

 

Judging from the various the writings of the various “analysts”, “Africa experts” etc. and even the retired US Acting Ambassador to Ethiopia Vicki Huddleston, who have come out of the wood works to vouch for Meles Zenawi, the leader of the genocidal vote rigging regime in Ethiopia and Washington’s “staunch ally in the global war on terror”, looks like he may once again be rewarded for his belligerent actions. US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi Frazier has flown to be at Meles Zenawi’s side at Menelik Palace as the international Somalia Contact Group huddle in Brussels, scurrying to find an exit strategy for Washington’ quintessential house negro Meles Zenawi.

 

For those of us who are accustomed to Meles Zenawi’s propensity for lies, as well as his trademark boisterous rhetoric and empty bravado, this latest beg for help comes as no surprise. The Tigrayan minority regime in Ethiopia, which suffers from delusions of grandeur, has never accepted responsibility for its actions and has always relied on its handlers to clean up its mess, provide it diplomatic, financial and political support as it evades its legal obligations, invades sovereign neighboring states, violates international law, reneges on Agreements it has signed, harasses and intimidates its political opponents, commits genocides and ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia etc. etc. . Today, it finds itself in yet another self created crisis and is begging its handlers to bail it out.

 

Well, looks like his skirted friends are rushing to his aid. Jendayi E. Frazier is squeezing African leaders to send their sons and daughters into the hell fire in Somalia to allow for Meles Zenawi’s safe exit. Vicki Huddleston, former Ambassador to Ethiopia, is writing Op-Eds to convince the American people and lawmakers to ignore Meles Zenawi’s violation of international law and US Security Council resolution 1725 on Somalia, by exaggerating the threat posed by the Union of Islamic Courts. I wonder if former US Ambassador to Ethiopia Eureal Brazeal will join Meles Zenawi’s skirted friends and provide her support now as she did when Meles Zenawi rigged the May 2005 elections in Ethiopia, detained thousands across Ethiopia for not voting for his regime, committed genocides in Gambela etc. etc.

 

I don’t mean to ignore the other prominent American gals that came to his defense in the past. It should be recalled that it was Madeline Albright, the former Secretary of State, and Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under the Clinton Administration and Gayle Smyth, Former Clinton advisor for Africa who provided Meles Zenawi the diplomatic, financial, and political support as he launched his minority regime’s aggressive war of invasion and expansion against Eritrea in 1998-2000. Now who is hiding behind who’s skirt?

 

After its ill advised mercenary end of year adventure into Somalia, the minority regime has launched another propaganda campaign designed to cover up its illegal invasion of Somalia, hoodwink the Ethiopian people, and force the international community to come to its aid. This week of lies and doublespeak (the regime’s trademarks) began with an address by the erratic Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s to the rubber stamp Ethiopian parliament on Tuesday 2 January 2007, followed by the shameless Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin’s staged “Briefing” of Addis based African Ambassadors, and now, after months in hibernation, the minority regime’s propaganda Minister Bereket Simon has taken to the airwaves.

 

In an interview with Voice of America on 3 January 2006, insulting the Ethiopian people and the international community’s intelligence, Bereket Simon in a futile attempt to justify the minority regime’s war of aggression and invasion of Somalia said:

 

“…We can say there are two objectives for all of us here. The first one is as Ethiopians we have the objective of defending ourselves from the attacks that were unleashed by the extreme forces in Somalia...Second objective is that of the Somali people and which concerns all peace-loving people around the world and every sensible country, that is the objective of bringing back Somalia into a statehood and to the world community in a very positive way, and the international community, the African Union, the UN and every other country who has interest in seeing Somalia being reconstituted should come and assist in this respect…”

 

Now that is laughable. There were no attacks on Ethiopia and Bereket Simon is lying. The Union of Islamic Courts never attacked Ethiopia. The UIC was consistent and correct in its call for removal of Meles Zenawi’s forces from sovereign Somali territory. As to the issue of Somalia’s reconstitution, that too is a lie. The minority regime in Ethiopia is instrumental in the “balkanization” of Somalia and the chaos and anarchy that has prevailed in Somalia for the last 15 years. Neither the minority regime in Ethiopia nor the puppet regime in Mogadishu have the moral authority to talk about Somalia’s statehood or Somalia’s reconstitution, a process that has been violently obstructed by Meles Zenawi’s US backed aggressive invasion of Somalia.

 

Addressing African Ambassadors in his office in the Ethiopian capital, the blundering Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin also attempting to justify his minority regime’s illegal invasion and occupation of Somalia called on Africans to share in his regime’s “burden”.

 

Presenting itself as a peace loving regime concerned with regional peace, security and stability, after going against the will of the international community and the Somali people and waging an unwarranted war to terrorize the people of Somalia into submission, the deceptive Foreign Minister used the opportunity to take pot shots at the Ethiopian opposition groups who are standing up and fighting against its apartheid rule in Ethiopia.

 

Trying to explain how his regime would extricate itself from Somalia, when asked by the Ugandan Ambassador (who shamefully likened Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia to Tanzania’s invasion of Uganda to remove the brutal dictator Idi Amin) on the process which his regime would undertake to pull out of Somalia, he went off on a long winded incoherent tangent. Instead of taking responsibility for its actions in Somalia, and providing evidence to prove that it was in fact acting in self defense, the minority regime lashed out at the international community. I have painstakingly transcribed his babble to illustrate his obvious ignominy. Here is what he said:

 

“…we were motivated in self defense but at the same time we had a commitment…collective commitment on the basis of decisions of IGAD, the African Union, including the United Nations of supporting…supporting the TFG…and those decisions were unanimous in all cases…the immediate neighbors of Somalia we were… we pledged…or our role was to assist in the training of police, national security and defense for the Transitional National Government…but those other members of IGAD pledged to send the protection force…IGAD and the African Union have been calling for the Security Council of the United Nations to support this…it was the failure…reticence of the international community that led us into the present tragic reality…the story could have been entirely be different…as if diplomacy needs blood…it is after heavy sacrifices of lives and blood…that now we see, we see again some optimism and some light that Somalia would stabilize and would have national government after 16 years of statelessness…”

 

The Tigrayan Foreign Minister of Ethiopia is attempting to fudge the facts. Neither the IGAD proposals nor Security Council resolution 1725 gave his regime any mandate. The regime invaded Somalia to prop up its own hand picked puppet regime and Prime Minister. As for the international community’s reticence, I agree, it’s inability to rein in the mercenary Tigrayan regime in Addis will continue to be a source of instability and insecurity for all the people of the region, especially the Ethiopian people who are the primary victims of the belligerent, genocidal lawless minority regime led by Meles Zenawi’s Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

 

Seyoum Mesfin knows full well that the international community was actively engaged in finding a solution for Somalia and so were most African countries. It was the regime in Ethiopia, and its puppet the TNG, that scuttled all possible dialogue between the TNG and the Union of Islamic Courts by invading sovereign Somali territories.

 

Seyoum Mesfin knows full well that under his personal tutelage, the TNG engaged in a virulent vilification campaign of the UIC and its supporters, intimidated and harassed the Somali people for supporting the UIC. Today, having bitten more than it can chew, is now calling for peacekeepers for Somalia, and he wants peace loving Africans to indulge in his regime’s adventures in Somalia. The question is-What peace? Seems to me, it is calling on Africans to support its illegitimate war of aggression and invasion, and occupation (by proxy) of Somalia.

 

The African Ambassadors know that the Union of Islamic Courts confined their activities to sovereign Somali territory and never ever encroached on Ethiopian territories. The minority regime, on the other hand, aggressively placed thousands of troops on sovereign Somali territories against the wishes of the Somali people in order to “prop up” the Transitional National Government in Somalia, led by Meles Zenawi’s stooge Ali Mohammed Ghedi. Its diversionary war against Somalia will not absolve the regime of its international legal obligations and should face international condemnation for its continued violations of international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

 

The minority regime in Ethiopia has committed one too many acts of aggression to warrant the sympathy and support of Africans or any other peace loving population. No young African men or women need to be used as cannon fodder and minesweepers to prop up Meles Zenawi’s handpicked puppet regime for Somalia. It should be noted that since its formation in Nairobi Kenya in 2004, the TNG has never been able to assert itself in Somalia and blaming the Union of Islamic Courts for its ineptitude is a farce. It was the American and Ethiopian support for various warlords in Mogadishu that prevented the TNG from establishing itself in the Somali capital. The TNG does not have the support of the Somali people and that is why Meles Zenawi’s minority regime has been hired as its keeper.

 

For his part the deceptive, flip flopping street smart Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told the Ethiopian parliament:

 

“…We will now leave as soon as possible, it could be weeks, it could be months. We don’t have the money to take this burden individually...”

 

What audacity! After boasting for weeks of not needing approval to carry out his invasion of Somalia, now he is back, begging bowl in hand, asking the “international community” to bail him out of his self made quagmire. In any case, this public request is yet another transparent and deceptive ploy; he knows his check is on the way [all the way from Washington]. This shameless mercenary regime cannot fool the Ethiopian people with its propaganda and hype.

 

Feigning concern for the Somali people Meles also said:

 

“…We call upon the government of Somalia to work hard to prevent warlordism and create an environment so that Somalis can participate in government…”

 

How can a government led by Abdullahi Yusuf and Ali Mohammed Ghedi, two notorious warlords in their own right work to “prevent warlordism”? The people of Somalia were participants in a process of self determination which was unfortunately, deliberately and maliciously obstructed by the US backed invasion of Somalia by Meles Zenawi’s forces. The people of Somalia have proven their resiliency and will not allow this blatant interference in the internal affairs of their nation by self serving external forces to thwart their just struggle for a unified Somalia.

 

Suffering from intense inferiority complex, and being unable to gain the respect and support of the Ethiopia people it has ruled by the barrel of the gun for 17 long years, the mercenary minority regime in Ethiopia, relying on Jenday E. Frazier to provide it with diplomatic, financial and political cover, after a short lived self promoting celebration of its pyrrhic victory in Somalia, has chosen to once again resort to its customary foul mouthed insults and froth. By calling its famous “Press Conferences” and releasing its infamous “Statements” while wining and dining Addis based cocktail diplomats, the minority regime in Addis believes it can win over the hearts and minds of the Ethiopians, Somalis and other Africans with its barrage of tall tales and lies. It may fool some for now, but not for long.

 

Its day of reckoning is near…

 

The rule of law will prevail over the law of the jungle!

 

American Chronicle