By Betre Yacob.
Opposition political parties in Ethiopia are said to have been showing reservation to the Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC), which has been working to overthrow the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) tyrannical regime that has been abusing, oppressing and exploiting its own people.
One ENTC leadership told this writer in an interview that although opposition political parties working in Ethiopia expressed their support to the Council (ENTC) — most of them have so far shown reservation to work together.
“When we formed ENTC, we had anticipated the joining of the other political groups under this umbrella. Hence the structure of the organization was designed in a bi-cameral way where organizations will have one wing with their voices and votes, and the public will be on the other end. To that effect, written invitations were sent to all the organized groups that are struggling for change in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, this did not work out as the opposition parties had some reservations even though they expressed support to the council”, he said.
The leadership, who said that the opposition political parties needed time to feel comfortable to rally behind the idea and join this new organization, said that —recognizing the problem —the general assembly of the council had passed a resolution in July 2012— to mobilize the public and, in the mean time, work closely with the other political parties and civic organizations.
“Accordingly, we are working together with other political parties in defining the roadmap and target around the alternative that ENTC believes yields success. Along with several other political parties and civic organizations, we have formed the “Joint Coordinating Committee of Ethiopian Democratic Forces” to help strengthen the cooperation. This committee is comprised of subcommittees and task forces which help develop the working relationships between the organizations”, he said.
The leadership also said that studying the past history of Ethiopian politics and assessing current political situations in Ethiopia, ENTC believed that along with the struggle for freedom— it was not too early to start thinking and planning of what was beyond.
“We believe that creation of an all-inclusive transitional government will help us have a framework and readiness that is required if the regime falls. In addition to that, having this institution beforehand will force the disparate political groups to work under one umbrella strengthening the struggle, hence two birds with one stone. Currently ENTC is calling for the formation of such an institution”, he explained.
Different political analysts argue that the Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) has been the first ever and wise development in the Ethiopian opposition politics. They are optimistic that the council will strengthen the Ethiopian struggle for freedom by bringing opposition political parties —which have been so fragmented.
The Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) was officially established in Dallas, USA on July 3, 2012, by Ethiopians from all over the world. It has been given the objective to overthrow the EPRDF regime and facilitate a peaceful transition of power to opposition political parties through participatory, fair, and democratic election.
Since its establishment, the council have done so many successful activities. For instance, it has managed to organize and mobilize Ethiopians that were part of the silent majority at the grassroots level in different local councils / chapters from all over the world including some in Africa. In addition, it has been doing meaningful works to influence western governments, which are the backbone of the tyrant regime in Ethiopia, to stand for the demand of the Ethiopian people.
Dagumedia 