borkena
November 28,2018
Amhara regional state head,Gedu Andargachew, is reportedly leading a delegation to the United States.
He and his entourage will be traveling to five US cities : Washington DC, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles and Atlanta. The purpose is for a town hall meeting with residents in those cities who are from what is now Amhara region of Ethiopia.
They are expected to arrive in Washington on Saturday, December 1, and programs are scheduled in those cities between December 2 and December 12.
Knowledge transfer and the ongoing change in Ethiopia are key agenda items for the discussions.
Intellectuals from the region and business owners, among others, are expected to be part of the discussion.
The Ethiopian embassy in the United States is not only informed about the visit but also some of the coordinators for the tour are from the embassy. For example, Demeke Zemene, who is a consul at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC, is among the committee the coordinators who gave a press statement regarding the visit.
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which one shall be first. establishing peace in the region or luxury tour?
Which one shall be priority? establishing peace and stability in their region or make a luxury tour?
At Gedu, unfortunately, may be beholding to Kilil mentality and identity politics, as many of his sponsors have been inviting only Amhara Tewlaj and claim he is here to address only Amhara Tewlaj and to discuss only Amhara matters. This is assinin and unfotunate. In his tour, there is no plan to meet with non-Amaras.
We fought 27-years to overcome Kilil mentality, now he is catering to the ethnocentric and Amharas extremists. Some of these are hardline ethnocentric like Woyanes, but they are anti-Woyane in words only or have been working for Woyanes. Such tour or program make Zeragnat or tribalism acceptable and probably the norm, exacerbating division and hatred among ethnic groups.
This dichotomy or contradiction should have ended with the rise of Dr. Abiy. However, some people still want to live in the past and pull the clock backward. One can assume when Dr. Abiy came to North America, he should have only addressed Oromos!!
If you go, please educate Gedu and his followers that ethnocentric policy did not work for Ethiopia, now it appears even for Woyanes and everybody should stop playing this ethnic card. It is not going to work for Amhara or anybody either. It only fosters division and hate that was designed by Woyanes to divide and rule Ethiopia.
Such tours instead of advancing unity may become a roadblock to Dr. Abiy’s vision of united Ethiopia and promote identity politics.