For the past month - during which events both in Ethiopia and amongst the diaspora took a turn to the worst - I had taken leave of absence from posting articles on web pages.   Those who know me from my bold approach to issues that I tackle on my articles would, no doubt, realise that I was not giving in to the brow-beatings of the confused and confounded, not to say hallucinating section, of our community in London or elsewhere.   Nor was my choice prompted by a cynical desire to sit by the fence until one side emerged victorious in what was an unnecessary act of blood-letting, for I had - on the very morrow of Election 2005 accepted the verdict of the Ethiopian people as final and binding. 

When emotions run high and cloud one's ability to think and act in a reasonable manner, when the untamed horse of the politics of hate is seen galloping from one home to another and when vested interest torpedoes national interest, the best a man who has not taken leave of his senses can do is to get down to his knees - which I humbly did - and ask God to save us from further bloodshed as well as protect us from the evil diktat of those politicians who steadfastly believe that they have got what it takes to lead us to greener pastures. 

Make no mistake; the Ethiopian way of life and the Ethiopian character have come under unprecedented attack by none other than the forces who have for far too long been claiming the custodianship of these values.   For nearly fifteen years Ethiopians - especially the vociferous Diaspora - have been crucifying the EPDRF for not having an iota of "Ethiopiawinet," as well as for being bent on breaking up Ethiopia on ethnic lines.   Spare me the thought, then, if you would, of what the reactions of Ethiopians both inside and outside of Ethiopia would be had the EPDRF issued diktat similar to the one issued by the CUD before it went underground. 

On the other hand, the diktat must be viewed as a blessing in disguise for it pointed out the sort of intolerant and one-size-fits-all Ethiopia that had remained latent under the veneer of democracy in the CUD camp.   It is also proof, if proof were ever needed, that not only is CUD hell bent on conquering state power by violent, rather than non-violent means - by employing sophistic arguments to make it look like 'a peaceful struggle' - but most worrying of all is the fact that this motley crew of the learned and "western sophisticates" do not realise that they are on a collision course with what is in essence the Ethiopian character.   That is why it is vital for men and women of reason to speak out whenever they see injustice being done to the Ethiopian character. 

The last time the world heard the very word "ostracize" by a political party was some sixty years ago when the Nazis decreed to ostracise those who opposed their brutal rule and, of course, it later culminated in the massacre of some six million Jews across Europe.   Those who dared speak out against this intrinsically evil diktat were massacred, while those who kept silent in the face of evil are now seen expressing their meaculpa to the State of Israel.   In short, for a party that claims to uphold democratic values by respecting diversity and by building a tolerant society, the very word "ostracise" ought to have been an anathema. 

Ethiopians - I mean Homeland Ethiopians, as opposed to the hyphenated ones who glee on the very thought of violence wrecking havoc in Ethiopia - have rejected, and rejected robustly,  CUD's call to ostracise those who support the EPDRF.   For they know too well that it is the inalienable right of individual Ethiopians to support a party of their choice without fear of repercussion.   Any deviation from this course would be a reversal to the dark days of the Derg when an Afro sporting youth was regarded as an EPDRF while a corpulent Ethiopian was taken to prison for being an EDU supporter. 

However, here in London, blessed as we are to live in a tolerant society where opposing views are addressed in a civilised manner, and where barring someone from church because of his political affiliation to a party that does not suppress - unlike the Derg - the spread of different forms of Christian worship is unthinkable, an attempt is being made to revivify CUD's ostracization call.   What happened some fortnight ago at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of St. Mary of Tsion, Battersea, London, is something that is not only condemnable by the faithful of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, but it is one thing that would make our saviour Jesus Christ weep profoundly.   Silence over such a combustible act must be an equally condemnable as it is bound to have a debilitating effect on the Body of Christ (Refer to "Politics and Religion www.aiga-forum). 

Some two weeks ago, close on the heels of Sunday Eucharist, a lay member of the Parish Council of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Tsion, stood to address a packed- to- capacity congregation of Ethiopians from diverse ethnic backgrounds.   After expressing his condolences to the families of those killed during the recent unrest in Addis Ababa, he had the brazen audacity to spit out his 'venom' by declaring that "henceforth supporters of the brutal EPDRF and bandas would be barred from the church."   Pity the devoted Christian Member of the Parish Council for it had not, yet, dawned on him that the church - according to Our Saviour - is for sinners and not for those masquerading as righteous.   I am reminded here by two similar incidents that I, myself, encountered when I was blessed to serve this very Church in the early part of the 1990s as its Secretary of the Parish Council.   The first was a call by victims of the Derg, who demanded that the Church places a ban on devoted henchmen of the Derg.   My position was unshakable.   Though Derg wiped off nine years of my productive life and killed my dear father, I was not prepared to take it out on those henchmen of the Derg who wanted to make it up with the Creator.   I detected then no opposition to the position that I had taken. 

But the second incident was one that signalled the parting of the waves with those who expected me to say "amen" to their wishes.   As a humble servant of God's House, the wishes of the congregation that elected me can only be my command in as far as it pleases God.   That was my guiding principle when men and women who - out of sheer hubris and hate - literally ordered me to bar from our church H.H. Abuna Paulos, Patriarch of Ethiopia.   Again, I took an unwavering stand on the ground that (a) I neither had spiritual nor temporal power to bar anyone from entering the church, let alone, the holy father of our ancient church.   (b) I refused and continue refusing to believe that God has bestowed the free-hold of the leadership of the EOTC on a specific ethnic group.   Yes, there is a price to pay for sticking to what one sincerely believes to be right.   But it is a price worth paying as one realises the liberating effect it has on one's way of thinking.   That is why, after years of unprecedented vivisection of my personality, I can still walk with my heads high, secure in the knowledge that I am at peace with God and, therefore, with myself. 

In conclusion, when the dust settles, as settle it will, and with the benefit of hindsight, CUD would come to realise that it was ill advised to have issued this diabolical diktat in the first instance.   How come our "western sophisticates" failed to realise that the admixture of the Ethiopian society is likened no to the 'Magna Teff' but to the 'Sergegna Teff' - impossible to sift one from the other.

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