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Brhané Mesqel Reda Hailé Fida

The Road of No Return

Õiechâ Õnnî-Õnné, Carmel, CA, USA

Part I. Introduction

A. General

1. Let me, from the outset, dispose of a minor point. Õiechâ Õnnî-Õnné is nom

de plume. It is an attempt to ward off, obviate and/or mitigate the digression

into the question of who the writer is rather than the merit, or lack thereof, of

the issue at hand.

2. The two pictures here above, Brhané Mesqel Reda and Hailé Fida, are

clipped from a website. It was posted, various Ethiopian websites on

December 6, 2013.The interrogation, investigation, admission, revelation,

acknowledgment, grilling, debriefing, or, call it what you will, they gave to

investigators of the Ethiopian government. The documents are informative

and original.

3. Original in the sense of being straight from the horse’s mouth. Above all

it is a missing first hand document of historic magnitude. It is like

opening “Pandora’s Box as in the Greek mythology”…. The whole contents

(evil) had escaped from the box, except for one thing that lay at the bottom –

the Spirit of Hope named Elpis”. The analogy of the mythology, in some

ways, applies to Ethiopia. The acts, the good, the bad, and ugly, of EPRP in

particular, Me.Ê.S.N to some extent are on display. My hope, Hope named

Elpis have survived. And that will sustain and carry us (Ethiopia) to a better

shore.

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4. The pictures as well as the content of the documents educed a reminisce

and deep grief in me. It took me back to my youth, my university days, and

my prolonged sojourn at Maeklawi.

5. There is an element of Eye Witness Report to this piece. I was in

Maekalawi, Solitary Cell No.7, where Brahané Mesqel was to reside his

final few days before his journey to The Road of No Return His wife,

Tadelech with two other ladies, were in the same Solitary Confinement Cell

with me until immediately before the arrival of Brhané Mesqel. I visited

with Hailé before my detention where he was detained. I was finally told not

to. I was lucky not to have been a witness of Haile’s The Road of No Return

trip. The anguish was personal as well as national

6. I have known both Brhané and Hailé. These were, at times, at closer range

than I wanted it to be .These two were Larger than Life figures. They were

part of the fabric of the Ethiopian Student Movement (ESM) at home and

abroad. I too was, however insignificantly, part of that Wave. Both were the

Founding-Fathers of political parties. Brhané-Mesqel was the Founding

Father of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP). Hailé was the

Founding-Father of The All Ethiopian Socialist Movement (AESM)

commonly referred to as Mé.Ë.So.N by its Amharic acronym. They played

significant and decisive, and deciding role via their respective organizations

in the outcome of The Great and Historic Ethiopian Revolution of 1974.

7. The direct and indirect impact, of EPRP in particular, was/is far-reaching.

The fortune and the aftermath of the Great Ethiopian Revolution is impacted

by it. The ramification and consequence of EPRP, founded by Brhané, is

inextricably intertwined with us (Ethiopia).

8. To substantiate this apparent generalization, I will try to disentangle and

break down some facts that are seemingly hidden in plain view. EPRP,

allegorically speaking, I believe, played the role of John the Baptist as in

Matthew 3:3 “Prepare the way…., make straight paths for him” The

him, in this case ,refers to The Tigrean People’s Liberation Front

(TPLF) a.k.a EPRDF.

B. This piece, The Road of No Return, will be in three parts. This, Part I, is

introductory. Part II will be a, sort of, Case Brief and analysis of EPRP. It

will deal with the extensive 99 page document of Brhané-Mesqel. Page

71&98 are missing. Part III will deal on Haile’s document .It is,

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unfortunately, less extensive than Brhané’s, and prosaic. It is symptomatic

low level police investigation and report. If nothing else, Hailé deserved a

better Last Will and Testament than that.

C. EPRP: The PANORAMA

Who was/is/are/were they? And where are they now?

1. This is an attempt to draw the Big Picture. Walking and plodding into

and through the labyrinth of EPRP was an easy obligation. I tried the

various bags, tents and hamlets (factions) to which EPRP

metamorphosed. The second task was to unwrap the cover and take a

look inside. To that end I utilized documents that are publicly

available in the public arena.

2. I occasional stray into opinion. The opinions are derived/based from

the facts therein. At least, so do I believe. At any rate I hope I will be

forgiven for that.

3. Is there a political party called EPRP in real time here and now?

Today? If so, how many factions? Or, was it dead? If so, when and

where? Who wrote the obituary, and who signed the death certificate?

Was it dead but not buried? Is that what is usually referred to as

suspended animation? Is resurrection, as in some beliefs, a

possibility?

D. Here are some of those facts hidden in plain view that I alluded to here

above.

i. EPRP as part and parcel of the present Government

1) The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front

(EPRDF) is a coalition. The most important partners of

coalitions are: The Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement

(EPDM), and the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization

(OPDO). EPDM is the rechristened and/or mutated name of

EPRP. OPDO is the child, or step-child ,of EPRP

2) The Central Committee of EPRP, led by Yared Tibebu, in

November 1980, at Tikurwuha,Tgray, changed the name of

EPRP to the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement

(EPDM).

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3) Subsequently Tamrat Layné became the leader of EPDM.That

took place when Yared Tibebu left. Or, Yared was presented

with an offer he cannot refuse and left.

4) In January1994, in a meeting held in Bahr Dar, Godjjam, EPDM

changed its name to The Amara National Democratic Movement

(ANDM).

5) Apparently the Bahr Dar change of name was to outfox the All

Amara Movement founded by the late Dr. Asrat Woldeyes.

Irrespective the name acrobatics, it is basically EPRP. Some

changes are voluntary. Others are not. That is a full pillaged

story outside the scope of this paper

6) The Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO) is the

major partner in the EPRDF, i.e. the present Ethiopian

government coalition. Major in the sense, the population and

geographic area of Ethiopia it purports to represent. OPDO was

created by EPRP. Be it on behest of TPLF. It is formed from the

Prisoner of War of the Ethiopian Army held by EPLF. It was

Yared Tibebu who made the trip to Eritrea and recruited and

formed the OPDO. Prima Causa!

7) Here is the role/participation of EPRP or its mutated part in

the present Ethiopian Government:

1. The 1st prime minster (August 1991) was Tamrat Layné.The

deputy premier was Addis Lagasse

2. in the era of the late Meles Zenawi ,of the 21 ministerial

posts , 14 were held by ANDM and OPDO

3. Under the present Prime Minster, Hailé Mariam Desaleñ,

Of the 26 ministerial posts 19 are held by ANDM and

OPDO

4. The deputy premier, Demeqé Mekonnen, is ANDM

5. Berket Simeon, considered to be the man behind the

throne a la Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin of Russia, is

ANDM

6. The person who emulated Tamrat Layné in corruption

and looting, Melaku Fenté, now in Aqaqi, who was the

director general of Revenue and Customs Authority, was

from ANDM.

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7. ANDM is the rulers of what is called Amar Kill. That is,

Northern Shewa, Godjam, Semen and Begemdr, and

Wollo.

8. OPDO are the rulers of Southern Shawa, Wellega, Illu

Aba Bora, Jima, and Arsi, most of Harergé, Balé, and

Borenna.

9. And please do not tell me that ANDM and OPDO are

ragdolls and pawns of TPLF. I know that! For one thing,

it is in the very nature of coalition. There is always a Big

Brother! For another ,there is the old saying “if you want

to be slave ,there never is a lack of a master”

ii. Cyberspace EPRP

1) There are EPRPs in cyberspace, the internet, and the

Ethiopian websites. I believe there many. I will only

mention the ones I am more familiar with.

2) One is called simply EPRP. This is, presumably, the one

led by Eyasu Alemayehu, one of the founding fathers of

EPRP.

3) According to Kiflu Taddesé in the Generation, when

EPRP disbanded, Eyasu and his brother Samuel , who

were the treasures of EPPP, took and run away with all the

money EPRP accumulated. The sorry part of it all ,

according to Kiflu Tadessé, was that they refused to heed

the plea to give even a pocket money for daily survival of

the now disbanded abandoned fighters. They were crossing

over to The Sudan.

4) This is remains a fact until challenged. As far as I know

neither Eyasu nor his brother challenged and /or refuted

this fact. I think I was told Eyasu attended the Law School.

A silence amount to acceptance is among the basic

concepts of civil law.

5) One thing that was clear from the narrative of The

Generation on the disbanding of EPRP was that Eyasu

Alemayehu was there and knew that EPRP is no more.

6) In a recent article published on Lomi Magazine ,Eyasu

Alemayehu reiterates that he is the leader of EPRP and

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proud of it. I just wonder, like any and all average persons

all over. Could you run away ,(the word steal was pregnant

in the Generation narrative) with the money of a Party,

abandon your comrades- in- arms in the middle of nowhere

penniless, and still claim to represent and lead that very

party, EPRP? And it was disbanded .I just wondered!!.

7) And here comes the opinion thing that I alluded to. The

older I get, over 70 now, I tend to council. May be it is the

age thing. Comes with the territory, so to speak!

a) One of the many nom de guerre Eyasu has is

Hamma Tumma.It means, as far as I can tell, Give

Me the Truth. Not to tell the truth is gommé,

lethal sin, in the Hamma Tumma people’s belief

system, I am told.

b) There is also the Abesha saying “amamawatén

assamrliñ” Pave for me pleasant passage to the

hereafter.

c) The one I like most is:

This above all- to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Farewell. My blessing season this in thee!

That was advice Polonius gave to his son, Laertes on eve of

his trip to Paris, France. Hamlet Act I Scene 3.That was

what I tried to inculcate in my children. The payoff was

amazing.

d) What this all simply means is that one cannot bury

his/her head in the sand like the ostrich and say the

hunter is not there. The real hunter, of which we

cannot run or hide, is in in our soul, in our

conscious

e) Many believe, and I am amongst the many, that

Eyasu has too many more untold truths to unload

before final bell tolls. Besides he is one of two

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survivors of the originals who did not tell his side of

the story. The other is Kiflu. I believe he owes it to

himself, his family, and his former comrades, dead

or alive as well as to the country, Ethiopia. Offense

is the best defense should not be the only

ammunition in his arsenal, or anyone’s arsenal, for

that matter. It simply means pay your debts!!

.Overdue debts, in this case!!

8) And the other cyber is called EPRP-D. Apparently a

splinter group from EPRP Eyasu. The D stands for

Democratic. By implication, the other, i.e., EPRP Eyasu is

undemocratic. The Eyasu segment calls itself the only

legitimate party.

9) I believe the EPRP-D is led by Doctor Getachew

Begashaw.I met him, years back, in East Lansing,

Michigan @ Michigan State University. I was impressed

with his commonsense, intellect and articulation. He has

taken it to the next level as a professor of economics at

Harper College. I did not expect the splinter EPRP part.

And then what do I know! Or, we never know!

10) There are a myriad others websites. Debtraw, designated

for Tsegayé Gebré Medihin being one of them. Probably I

have to come back on Tsegayé in some other setting.

Suffice here to mention only what he did to my friend and

his friend, Yirga Tessema, may he RIP. It is not only

incomprehensible but unbelievable.

11) There are also a number of publications and support

groups . The Washington, D.C. area EPRP Support Group

is one. This group recently republished its epic horror story

that gloats on the assassination of Dr. Fiqré Merid. Dr.

Fiqré was my friend. He was a sophisticated, genteel,

dedicated, modest, with hair-splitting intellect, committed

socialist and cosmopolitan. The republication of the

assassination of Dr. Fiqré brought to my mind my high

school Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth of Macbeth

“... Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of

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Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!”

Lady Macbeth was, of course, gazing at her blood

drenched hand.

12) This is also an aside. The EPRP group on cyberspace

reminds me of the 16th century Spanish author Cervantes’s

Don Quixote. He is also known as the knight or man of La

Mancha, a hero who carries his enthusiasm and self-

deception to unintentional and comic ends.

iii. Redemption: The Marxist Leninist League or Malred.

1) A group of young men redeemed themselves from the

EPRP. Page 6 of the Investigation Report summary of

Brahané Meqel Reda mention 8 individuals who

abandoned the Asimba camp and joined the

Ethiopian Revolution. These were:

1. Tesfayé Mekonnen 5. Zekeria Mahamed

2. Hailé-Eyesus Weldé-Senbet 6.Abebe

3. . Hailu W.Giogis 7.Gashaw

4. Dawit Assefa 8. Ayalew Kebedé

2) Their odyssey did not end with abandoning Assimba

&EPRP. They joined The Ethiopian Revolution. All were

employed by the ministry of land reform. Zegeyé Asfaw,

who drafted the proclamation, and the Minster of Land

Reform embraced them all with outstretched hands.

Anteneh Gebré Sellasie, the deputy to the Zegayé, did all

he could to thwart the implementation of proclamation.

He was an EPRP and eventual joined them in Assimba, I

presume. It was part of the struggle. They gave their best.

3) What is more, the group formed a political party The

Marxist Leninist League or Malred. Malred joined

with other progressive groups to form The Ethiopian

League of Progressives. They lived their dreams of

Youth “Land to the Tiller !!Down with Feudalism!

Down with Monarchy! “for which they sacrificed and

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suffered exile through Somalia, The Sudan Algeria

and the Eritrean desert.

4) There was one unfortunate disaster. Hailé-Eyesu was

assassinated by EPRP. Brahané calls it by the clique.

It is semantics. He was the best of them all. Tall, by

Guragé measure, handsome, teym, genteel, perpetually

smiling .He does not look like he was cut for the life he

led including the hijacking. Appearances are deceiving.

My only regret ! I was close to him. I wish I was closer

than that. Otherwise I am proud to state that I am friend

to all of those who escaped Assimba. The heard the Bell

Tolls.

E. The Final Will and Testament

1. The Generation is a book by Kiflu Tadessé. According to The

Generation, EPRP was disbanded 1980 and thenceforth ceased to

exist. The Generation is the Death Certificate of EPRP.It was signed

and sealed by Kiflu Taddesse. He was the last and the only one on the

helm of EPRP in its final years. He was one of the Founding-Fathers

of EPRP. He is one of the two surviving leaders of EPRP. The other

is Eyasu Alemayehu.

2. He was the one in charge the urban gorilla carnage. The assassination

of Dr. Fiqré, Temegen Madebo , The Secretary General of The

Confederation of Ethiopian Labor Union (CELU), Ato Mekonnen

Shagané, the legendary paraplegic Director of Menelik II School of

Addis Ababa , Getachew Maru of the CC/PB of EPRP and many

more . He was also the vanguard in the campaign to defame, destroy

the fame of paragon, adbars of Ethiopia like the late Laureate Tsegaye

Gebre Medhin, Afewerq Teklé just to mention few.

3. Death Certificate of EPRP is in plain view. Has been now for nearly

20 years .Any and all who claim to be EPRP with or without a proviso

is taking of ghost of EPR. Ghost stories are usually associated with

bad dreams or nightmares.

.

F. Pose Script

i. Gratitude

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1) I’m indebted to Ewnetu Simé for posting these momentous documents

on line. These are synopsis of the main document. I am eagerly

anticipating the day when he will post the whole document. Probably

a 1000 pages?

2) The documents are self-explanatory. The cover introductory article by

Ewnetu “Ethiopia: Myth, Delusion, Misjudgment the Fallacy of

Clandestine Movement & Documents Ethiopians Deserve to see!!” is

incongruous with the very documents. It gives the impression that he

may not read, or, read but did not scrutinize. I would like to draw the

attention of Ato Ewnetu special to from the last 3 lines of page 20

to page 26.However chilling, unbelievable, unfathomable the contents

of those pages are, its contents were carried out into action by

EPRP. The malevolent bloodshed was carried out all over Ethiopia

with focus on Addis Ababa“…(B)efore you start pointing out a

fingers, make sure your hands are clean” is a quote from Bob Marley.

I think it is appropriate quote for this scenario.

3) I also have another pertinent quote, this time, from the Spanish

author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedr.” Those who'll play with cats

must expect to be scratched” I always thought that belonged to my

Mom. I know it before I ever heard of Cervantes. I cannot accuse

Cervantes of plagiarism of the time space difference—400 years

ii. Introspection

It has been over a month since the posting of the Brhané Mesqel

Reda and Hailé Fido’s momentous documents. No one excepting, be

tangential, Mered Kebedé so far touched upon it. Two thoughts crossed

my mind:

1) This philosophical thought experiment “If a tree falls in a forest and

no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" But in this case

we are there to hear it. Yet pretended not to be there. No sound... The

saying “Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread”. Am I that Fool?

Or

2) The 2nd

is The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen where

“A child, who…..could only see things as his eyes showed them said

"The Emperor is naked,” Did I coincidentally turn into that child?

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iii. Homage, Reminder, and Disclosure

1) I send my heart felt admiration and appreciation to Hiwot

Tefffera my “Alma Mater”, at the Gulag, the Ethiopia’s

version, Maekalawi.Hiwot got audacity to think outside the

box and pen Tower in the Sky. I believe it will be the source

of inspiration to many. I am sure the new/old revelation by

Brhané Meskel has given her some more insight into the cage. I

am looking forward for a sequel to Tower in the Sky. Or, what

about a brand new book? If you can do one, you can do more.

Megarejaw teqedo meqdesu taytwalna!!.

2) Reminder: I also hope past writes on EPRP, the likes of

Ghelawdewos Araia, who wrote before the dust is settled, to

read Brhané Mesqel’s statements in the context of what they

wrote. I also recommend reading The Emperor’s New Clothes, the children’s book by Christian Henderson. Why it is called children’s book, in

the first place, is beyond me.

3) I hope they will be able to see that The Emperors were naked.

And this will, hopefully, lead to zehalefé sryët welézëymetië

eqbet. Which is due, if not overdue.

4) Disclosure: I was neither EPRP nor Mé.Ë.So.N.I have been

accused, though, for aiding and abetting EEPRP. In my pre

Maekelawi life I officially visited places to investigate and

report on the mayhems created by EPRP.The typical

setting was various ediget behibert zemecha stations.. My

findings were either not reported or reported a diluted form to

the powers be.

5) One vivid example was the closure of the North-South highway

at Shashamané. That cut off any and all connection between

parts of Arsi and Balé as well as the whole of Sidamo and

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Gammo Gofa regions from Addis Ababa. The culprits were

EPRP. At the head of it was the leader of the Zemecha, a Dr.

Beriyhun from AAU, and Gebru Mersha, the Awraja

administrator. The evidence was incontrovertible .Yet

nothing happened to them.

6) I took the trouble of earnestly advice and warn Dr. Beriyhun

that this time he got lucky. He may not be so lucky the next

time. Dr. Beriyhun was one of those who jumped from

telecommunication building roof with Dr. Tesfayé

Debesay.A year or so later, I met his wife. She was also in

Shashamané at the time of the incident. She said” He did not

listen to you! He paid with his life. And I will pay for the

rest of my life”

Coincidence? I am not sure! We met with Beriyhun’s wife, in

the vicinities of the Telecommunication building. I forgot her

name.Genet?

Ammén!!