Great Patriots

When I learned of the expected news of the “conviction” of the Great Patriots in Zenawi’s kangaroo court this morning, my initial reaction was not disappointment or sadness. It was a deep and overwhelming sense of pride in the personal sacrifices and extraordinary courage shown by these Great Patriots for their country and people. As I thought about the Great Patriots, I began to imagine:

• the fortitude it took to say: “Zenawi, You can imprison our bodies and you can torture us, but you can never, NEVER, touch the Spirit of Kinijit.”
• the guts its took to say: “Zenawi, we are not afraid of your thugs and your goons, and your guns and tanks. We shall not be moved.”
• the virtuousness it took to say: “Zenawi, we will never give in to the dEvil, make a deal with the dEvil. No, we will always do the right thing, at any cost.”
• the audacity of hope it took to say: “Zenawi, we will languish in jail so that 75 million of our people will one day live FREE, and generations yet to come will one day experience the blessings of liberty.”
• the valor and heroism it took to stand face to face with the Overlord of Hell and say: “Begone to your Kingdom of Hell for there is no place for you in our paradise we call Ethiopia.”
• the courage it took to look The Beast in the eye and say: “Go take a hike!”

But soon I ran out of words. And so, I could only say: Oh! Great Patriots, ever was so much owed by so many to so few!

I have no words or phrases to sing you praises or express my deepest gratitude. I only thank God that I was born on the same piece of His good earth that you now stand to defend to the end. My cup runneth over!

And then I thought of Zenawi and his pathetic judicial crew on the stage of justice.

On that stage, open for the world to see, Zenawi made a travesty of justice. He perverted truth and glorified naked perjury. He dressed up falsehood in the garb of righteousness, and mocked the very idea of due process. He thumbed his nose at international law and the court of world opinion. He put on a theatre of the absurd, and what was on stage to see was only the monstrosity of his regime. .