Ethiopia's opposition survivors of the post-election government crackdown in 2005 have once again re-grouped in Addis Ababa, and after several ups and downs, formed their party: "Unity for democracy and Justice party (UDJP)," or known by its short Amharic name "Andinet," meaning "Unity."
Elected to lead the new party is Bertukan Mideksa, a 34-year-old former judge who was - while in prison for nearly two years - hailed by the pro-democracy community as the "Aung San Suu Kyi of Ethiopia."
In an Internet radio interview with the Ethiopian Diaspora, Ms. Bertukan on Teusday hailed the formation of the new party as a "political breakthrough."
Her former party, then Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP), would have been the legitimate government in Ethiopia today had it not been for the war Mr. Zenawi conducted in the name of a ‘state of emergency’ against the Ethiopian people who overwhelmingly voted for the opposition parties: CUDP and UEDF.
In the subsequent nationwide terror campaigns, hundreds were killed, thousands wounded, and over 100,000 interned at concentration camps where many died of hunger, torture, and disease.
Heavy-weight political leaders of CUDP, including former CUD chairman Hailu Shawel, current Ginbot 7 opposition leader Dr. Berhanu Nega, current Andenet leaders Engineer Gizachew Shiferaw, Dr Hailu Araia, Dr. Yacob Hailemariam, Prof. Mesfin Wolde-Mariam and many more others, were thrown into jail under fabricated charges of “attempts to overthrow a constitutional oder.”
In the nationwide terror campaign that stood out on the African continent for its brutality, and left Ethiopians wailing for help, the West gave scant attention, though Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among others, were frequently alerting the international community of the murder spree Zenawi was carrying out with impunity.
If there were exceptions to the eerie silence of the Western democracies, it was members of the US Congress in the likes of The Honorable Donald Payne and the Honorable Chris Smith, the latter known for making a huge and honest remark: “No regime that terrorizes its own citizens can be a reliable ally in the war on terror."
Relentless protests by Ethiopians around the world, and the support among some EU members and the US Congress secured the release from prison of CUDP leaders last year.
The survivors of one of Ethiopia's darkest moments have once again tried to re-build their once robust opposition party from scratch, and Bertukan pins her hopes on the commitment of the change-seeking Ethiopian people, particularly the Ethiopian youth.
Last week Ethiopia Zare, a newly-launched website fast gaining the trust of its readers, reported that the founding Andenet party was brimming with a class of young educated delegates.
In a country where the ruling party is above the law, and knows no mercy at the slightest challenge to its rule now close to 20 years, one must be gutsy to join hands with the likes of the charismatic Bertukan Mideksa.
Though Bertukan's fledgling party is most likely to enjoy the crucial support of the people at home and the Ethiopian Diaspora, many skeptics say it is a matter of time before Zenawi – long resented as a mercenary than a tyrant – axes his rivals to death.
"We must stop pretending that Ethiopia is run by a respectable government,” once said Ana Gomes, member of European Parliament, “When in fact it has a murderous and oppressive regime."
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