#Obang Metho#
My Fellow Ethiopians: We, the freedom lovers, justice seekers and unity defenders have just won the Battle but not the Victory.
It is joyful to see our heroes, the Zone 9 bloggers hugging their family and friends. We can't wait to see all the others heroes, the tens of thousands Ethiopian political prisoners do the same to their family too soon.
We, the people of Ethiopia are rejoicing, wherever we are—in or outside of Ethiopia, at the release of the four Ethiopian bloggers, who were arrested in 2014 after writing posts critical of the ethnic apartheid regime of the TPLF/EPRDF, have been acquitted by the country’s high court yesterday of terrorism charges.
After they (Zone 9 bloggers) spent 539 days in prison and 39 court hearings they were acquitted and set free but we should never forget that freedom of speech is still on trial in Ethiopia. Their released should reminded us that justice and freedom will always prevail, no matter whether it is done today or not.
October 16, 2015, will forever mark a great day that will go down in history books for all freedom loving Ethiopians, but please remember, as we are celebrating a beginning victory, it is only one battle in a war for justice, freedom, peace and liberty.
Until tens of thousands of other Ethiopian political prisoners who continue to languish in the prisons of Afar; Amhara; Benishangul/Gumuz; Dire Dawa; Gambella; Harari; Oromiya; Somali region; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's; Addis Ababa; and Tigray are free, we are not free as a people and our victory cannot be claimed.
Until all our Ethiopian institutions, now being used against us instruments of repression, are released from the tight controls of the ethnic apartheid regime, we can take hope and encouragement from this unexpected achievement, but it is only the beginning. Until Ethiopians can live, breathe and move freely about within our society—without fear of reprisals for simply thinking for ourselves—we are not free!
So right now, let us pause to thanks the family of the Zone 9 Bloggers and their supporters who never lost hope and never give up fighting until justice prevails. Th victory of releasing the Zone 9 Bloggers is about being consistent and a true freedom fighters and if we are patient we can accomplished more than we can imagine.
I also want to thank our heroes, the Zone 9 Bloggers released and for those still stuck in prisons and detention centres throughout Ethiopia for being examples of courage for Ethiopia. It is you who have built a foundation for freedom that will fan the flames of fire within our hearts. Many of you are yet unknown by name to many of us, yet you have inspired all of us by your examples.
It is brave Ethiopian men and women from every ethnic and religious groups like this of whom the rest of us are so proud. As people of principle, true to themselves and to what is right, they have been targeted as enemies of the ruling ethnic apartheid regime. Their examples create serious problems to the ethnic apartheid regime, while encouraging and motivating us in the Diaspora to carry on our advocacy work in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australia.
Yet, we remember, the real heroes of the struggle are these people like the Zone 9 Bloggers and others standing up for truth, justice, equality, virtue, love and freedom that are living in all the corners of Ethiopia.
We must also give credit to those Ethiopians in the Diaspora who through their persistence from the beginning, have worked so diligently on making those in the international community aware of this crisis, even to the point where western governments have responded with action.
My fellows’ Ethiopian brothers, and sisters do not focus on the pain and ethnic hatred inflicted on each other by the narrow-minded, ethnocentric politicians and their sick ideology of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples that denied the Humanity of others and history of Ethiopia.
We need unity and national reconciliation more than ever before. Three things are holding freedom from coming to Ethiopia. As I have said it before these three things are: Lack of our UNITY of propose, the GUNS of the TPLF/EPRDF and the support of ethnic apartheid regime by the USA or WESTERN COUNTRIES.
The guns and the support of ethnic apartheid regime from the players like the US, Canada and Europe, will dissolve if we have a truly unified movement of the PEOPLE based on respect, tolerance and inclusion.
May God help us!
