Letter to the VOA

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is as per your request to express my opinion. You will find your letter to me herein below. This is not unsolicited email. You sought my opinion and requested in writing. This is in response to your request. First and foremost I want to thank you for taking your time to write to me. I want to thank you too for seeking my opinion. I am one of the many Ethiopians who wish Ethiopia could model herself after America's style of leadership and high ideals like liberal democracy.

I highly value and appreciate your extra effort to let us have access to info about our country and the world. Ethiopia is a country that had never had democracy in her entire history.Our past history i.e 100 or so years before was all the same with the rest of the world. Ethiopia was no exception. Rather Ethiopia had, inter alia, benevolent dictators like King Menelik the II. But our recent history, specially the last sixty years (post II WW), is regrettable. VOA, against all odds, has been trying to serve the truth. VOA has never been liked by the series of Ethiopian dictators, including the present government which is simply the latest in the series. In the 21st century, in the post cold war era where reason and rational thinking are dominating, at this particular historical epoch where the world is trying to convert itself into a small village, a nasty cannibalistic  tribalist regime in Ethiopia could, with the unreserved assistance of the Chinese government and characteristic indifference of the west, manage to suppress, oppress and cut off from the world 80 million people. Shame to humanity! Shame to the civilized world! VOA shouldn't as such be surprised, disappointed or annoyed that it is jammed in Ethiopia. This should rather serve you as a litmus paper that you are on the right track. There is nothing more disgusting and nauseating than being praised by a dictatorial regime. Keep up the good work!
Having said this, I have one more point to add. My late mother used to say, "kalagonebesu ayregetu". Literally, it means, "if someone kicks you on your butt, it should be because you are bending over". America at this historical era has to lead the world by setting good example. America has to formulate a policy based not only on self interest but also on equity and fairness and justice too. America has to change its policy and turn its back on all those monsters it shamelessly refers to as 'friendly dictators'

In 1948 George Kennan, Director of Policy Planning. U.S. State Department said the following,

"Our real task... is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity [U.S. military- economic supremacy]... To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming... We should cease to talk about vague and...unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization... we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better."

This is said 62 years before. That was the year State of Israeli was established, That was the year cold war took an ugly turn and the middle east was the battle ground for a proxy war. That was just three years after the II WW and the world divided into two ideological camps. Now we have traveled a long distance since then. What George Kennan said 62 years ago should be irrelevant for the present day reality. America should say to her so called allies to her so called war on terror ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. America should stop financing butchers. America has to stop rewarding tyrants, torturers, killers, and sundry dictators and corrupt puppet-Prime Ministers for their loyalty to US interests.  Dictators like Meles Zenawi are now openly saying America keeps on supporting them at any cost so long as they are allies to the America's war on terror.  I am writing you this letter under an assumed name. I can't even write openly and without fear a simple letter under my real name.  I am now in my mid 50s. I hope I will see in Ethiopia a democratically elected government before I die.
God bless Ethiopia and America!
Long live Ethiopia and America!

--
Tegegne Z Werku