The Rise and an Imminent Fall of a Minority Regime-TPLF

(The Tigrean People’s Liberation Front)

By David Makuria | June 24, 2014
Western democracy is built on the principles of a majority rule while respecting minorities’ rights. This norm is nowhere more evident than the United States of America. Although the Greeks have a legitimate claim to be the oldest democracy in some form, currently, the United States can claim the guardianship of modern democracy. This is not to say other Western democracies have no equal claim of their own. The theme of this article is not to compare Western democracies, but rather, to draw some parallels to show the genesis and demise, the political representation and lack thereof in the current political discourse in Ethiopia. The emergence of the current Ethiopian regime in the national political arena in 1991 is no accident in that citizens of Ethiopia had enough with the previous military junta, the Derg. It is after this change in people’s attitude that the current regime marched to the capital, Addis Abeba without much resistance. It does not; however, appear that the TPLF regime recognizes this reality on the ground. Once they occupied the Arat Kilo Palace, they have done everything to maintain their control on power without paying due regard to citizens interest. Yet, there are numerous signs that power is slipping away from this regime.
There are some telltale signs that the TPLF regime is losing its grips on power. After all, a minority regime which serves only itself and neglects the will and interests of the overwhelming majority has no future, but eventually succumbs to the will and demand of the people. Arbitrary arresting of journalists/bloggers, jamming opposition radio and TV channels, indiscriminate labelling members of a certain ethnic group who do not comply with their political agenda as terrorists, firing at and killing peaceful student protestors as young as teenagers, the list can go on and on. But, what more signals do we need as a proof for the decaying of this repressive state. All the aforementioned measures indicate actions taken by a desperate and repressive regime such as TPLF. There is no doubt that this regime will disintegrate sooner than later. The question is not if but when? However, what worries many political observers in the Horn of Africa is that out of desperation they will vent their anger on the general public who is unarmed and unprepared especially in Oromia region. Nevertheless, one can argue they are already doing just that, the recent measure they took on peaceful student protestors against the Addis Abeba Master Plan (AAMP) being a case in point.