** The role of Kinijit vis a vis the AFD and the KIL

The earth is awash of (is crushing with) the heavens
Few remove their shoes, stand on holy ground and seek divine results
The rest wear their shoes and pick up berries.


Moses removed his shoes, stood on holy ground, as the bushes around him were burning from their sins that confronted the Holy, listened to divine orders and guided his people out of slavery from Egypt to the Promised Land.

Even now, God's help is extended to those who, as it were, will remove their shoes and stand on holy ground and pursue clear vision to deliverance, while the rest, as it were, burn in the bushes or otherwise pick up berries farther away.

I use the above Sunday Preacher's sermon to make the following points.
We are not engaged in delivering Ethiopia out of its plight of destruction imposed on it by the Tigrey People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its leader Mr. Zenawi. That act requires dedicated people who place their lives on the line and in Ethiopia.  We are far away from Ethiopia. We are providing part time effort that includes contributing small sums of money, holding occasional demonstrations, lobbying for the cause of Ethiopia, and providing some ideas. We are merely helpers to those who are working in Ethiopia to liberate Ethiopia from the tyranny imposed on Ethiopia by the Tigrey People’s Liberation Front.  We are particularly impressed by the vote of seventy six million people, who overwhelming elected to place the Kinijit party officers as their leaders. The Tigrey People’s Liberation Front has imprisoned the elected Ethiopian leaders, the Kinijit leaders.  It is now very clear that the TPLF will not surrender to the will of Ethiopians even by 2010 when another election will be due unless it is evicted by means of force.  However, in the mean time we should work our hardest to secure the release of the incarcerated Kinijit leaders.


What is the holy ground that we are supposed to stand on?  That one is easy to see. Working separately and individually is not an efficient way of providing support to Ethiopians in Ethiopia . We may become efficient if we work in groups. The groups should be democratic in their formulation and practices.  That constitutes the holy ground that is meant here. Kinijit support units in the Diaspora should organize support chapters democratically, and their representatives should be elected democratically. The Kinijit North America Executive should be elected democratically.  By the way, a democratically grouped entity should encourage members to act as individuals for the cause, and should salute any and all Ethiopians who work to liberate Ethiopia from the tyranny of the Tigrey Liberation Front.


I will conclude here as I have done in the last piece, which I included below, let us excel with our acions. Let us focus more on democratic efforts and less on what others may want to do. We should be able to form alliances with any and all who work for the release of Kinijit leaders and other political prisoners without destroying the sovereignty of Ethiopia. Ours should be based on the primacy of democratic processes (orthodoxy) and practices (orthopraxy).

HG: 8/7/06

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Dear friends,

Some of the same people who are in Kinijit-USA Executive are also called the Kinijit International Leadership (KIL) by adding a couple of other individuals. The same individuals who brought friction within the Kinijit-USA Executive are also at it in the KIL.  They have succeeded in disabling the Kinijit USA from focusing on its support role. The mou and statutes of the AFD, which read as though it is a pact written by aliens of Ethiopia, have disabled the Kinijit USA from working on its task as a support unit of Kinijit Ethiopia.  Meanwhile the USA administration is apparently engaged in fracturing the Kinijit movement, and marginalizing the elected leaders of Kinjit who are languishing in jail at kaliti. For details point to URL: http://oneethiopia.net/News/Ledetu_Kehadiwe.htm

.

What can Kinijit support chapters in the USA do?  I propose the following.

1) Avoid antagonizing the KIL or the former Kinijit-USA Executive.

2) Cause Chapter chairpersons to form a council, from which a chairperson, a treasurer and a PR person should be elected as the executive branch of the support unit. That is all the bylaws you need initially.  NB. If for some reason the representatives of Chapter chairpersons decides to elect an individual other than a support-chairperson  to serve in the executive committee, that person must understand that she/he derive their power only from the council of representatives and hence are answerable to the council.

3) Accept the existent chairperson of KIL Major Yoseph Yazew as a member of the new executive and as chairman of the Liaison office of the new Kinijit-USA Executive.  The new Kinijit USA executive chairperson should work closely with Major Yazew, who is also the chairman of the office of the Liaison with Kinijit Ethiopia.

4) Do not use a quota system or any manner that will recognize the component parties (AEUP, EDP-Medhin, or Kesta Demena, et cetera) in the selection of the Kinijit Executive. Work for a Kinijit Party.

Let peace ring among Kinijitians. Let the KIL do what they can.  Let the Kinijit-USA support Chapters through their elected officers do what they can. Let Kinijit party members do what they can. Do not antagonize any grouping of Kinijit. Let all do what they can, and you do what you can.  What is wrong in focusing on things that we can do.  Is it not ironic to suggest that one should make an alliance with the OLF, which has a program that is opposed to  the existence of Ethiopia, and yet yell at members of the broad Kinijit family who either see things differently or who are trying to survive under the harsh and wild TPLF Kingdom?

I suggest that Kinijit-support units should elect representatives who are answerable to them and ought to  focus on supporting the Kinijit USA leaders.  Let us excel by our actions.

NB: I may not be able to read and/or write to you until  8/ 6/06.  I gave the piece above for your kind deliberation. It offers a departure from the infested swamp that we seem to be trapped in.  My interest is to work with and through the Kinijit-USA support units. As Yohannes IV put it: ye'ene eTaye Ye kidus Markos'nn sebeka meketel naw. He was trying to convince catholics, who are followers of the House  of St. Peter, understand that his geographic location has made him a follower of the House of St. Mark. Likewise, my geographic location forces me to state:  ye'ine eTye be America yemigegnewoun ye kinijt degafi bud'nin wusT mesrat new.  I cherish the memeory of the twenty six million Ethiopians who went to the election boths and overwhelming elect the Kinijit party representatives

HG: 7/28/06.