temari wrote: ↑30 May 2022, 06:34
Sadacha, you are making Ethiopia a unique case. Every country in the world is dependent on other countries one way or another, be it for its economy, military etc. The military hardware all African countries use today wasn't produced by themselves so they have to get it somewhere. How is Menelik exceptional for getting weapons from Europeans while every African country today gets its weapons from Russia and the US? How is Menelik different from every African country today? He got his weapons the same way all African countries without exception get their weapons today. What are you expecting that he produce the military hardware himself? Give me a break!
The idea of becoming fully independent for everything is a big delusion in my view and no other country is fully independent to the extent of it doesn't need any engagement with other countries. Even countries like North Korea are dependent on the likes of China and Russia. USA and Europe are highly dependent on China and China itself is highly dependent on its exports to the US and Europe. Inter-dependency is a norm not an exception. And I'm very sure you would not want to live in those few countries that are highly isolated.
Util now, no country showed a way to become prosperous by isolating itself and being "self-reliant". Sure it is good if you become food self-reliant but many rich countries in the Arab world are not. What about weapons? How many countries are self-reliant when it comes to military hardware? Very few. And if you want to go beyond food and want to sell your products to Europe and USA then you become dependent on their money even without aid. So if you don't meet their conditions they will block your imports as the US did to Ethiopia's AGOA access. The US for example blocked Russian central bank assets and also once threatened to block Ethiopia's. That is the way the world works. You can't have prosperous country without engaging in trade relations with the world and those with the highest purchasing power for your goods are still USA and Europe and will have a leverage.
Finally, comparing Ethiopia and Eritrea is like comparing apples and oranges. Ethiopia's land size, population number, economy, ethnic make up, mentality, political history, state make up and almost everything else is not comparable to Eritrea except the few cultural similarities. Eritrea's population is half the size of Addis Ababa's for God's sake! To even expect Ethiopia to act like Eritrea is absurd and irresponsible in my view and will never materialize. The two countries are miles apart in every major parameters and so I don't see any need for both of them to follow the other. They both should fully understand that they are fully different countries with very few cultural similarities. Sometimes the few cultural similarities deceive us all to think we are dealing with similar countries. That is a delusion. Each of them need to find what is best for themselves and never try to copy the other thinking they are somehow similar. They are not!
Ethiopia is unique in many ways, most are good ways for the record, some are bad...
one is, it is essentially the creation of European elites cooperating with the elites of the empire at the time, i.e. Menelik. I am not saying this to insult Menelik, or praise him, but rather, just speaking the truth, with no emotions involved at all. Without the firearms, training, and direct participation of those European generals in Menelik's wars; he would not have been able to conquer and establish the boundaries of modern day Ethiopia. If you put emotions aside, and analyze what occurred then you'd easily also come to this conclusion. I for one am not emotional and give credit where it's due, Menelik did some good, did some bad, just like any emperor of his time, I do not overly praise him, or overly insult or denigrate him. I tell it like it is, whether it angers, saddens, or makes
I am saying that, Ethiopia's government, and as a country, cannot just do as it wishes, because it's beholden to the interests of those who fund it and further back in history, those who helped create it. Whether we like it or not, Ethiopia's existence is mainly due to the interests of the European elites who wanted an ally or a subordinate in that part of the world, to serve their interests, almost the same way Israel serves their interests in the middle east/that part of the world.
We have to be objective and keep emotions out of any intellectual discourse, which is why I respect you a lot out of all the people here, because you have shown your ability to discuss issues without resorting to insults. I believe you and obbo/wondime Info, are among the best people here, simply because you can discuss matters without resorting to insults and denigrating people; which is rare in Ethiopian political or historical discourse. Our people tend to always have to resort to insulting, especially based on the ethnicity of the person with an opposing view; so as you can see, some insult me for being Oromo and Muslim, so they call me ''galla'' and ''wahabi'' which doesn't even exist, we're/I'm Sunni, which is what the majority of Ethiopian Muslims are, and the majority of Muslims globally are. Then, in turn, they expect me to insult all Amara's, or Christians, or Tigrayans, which I refuse to do, because I know better and I am better than them, because I am not as emotional or negative. Simple as that.
I never once claimed any country could be completely independent, especially in this era in which economies are more or less interdependent on others, but I'm saying that, until Ethiopia can attain self sufficiency in the basics that are needed for any country to more or less, stand on its own, i.e. food, clean water, shelter, etc, then we cannot pretend as if we aren't beholden to the interests of those who fund our country. Those powerful countries or entities you mentioned, are self sufficient when it comes to the basics, but yes, even they, depend on trading with others to a large extent.
It is also, to address those on here who claim abiy is going to ''betray Eritrea,'' when in reality, they have ulterior motives and are not brave enough to admit that they're TPLF cyber cadres [i.e.: Union aka Present, Noble Amhara, Tarik aka Judgement day 1234/wedi, and others], who wish to see Ethiopia and Eritrea in conflict again, so it could give their TPLF a break from being surrounded on all sides by strong foes, and perhaps ... pave a way for them to try to sneak back into menelik's palace in addis/finfinne.
