|
D.E.M.O.C.R.A.T
The
acronym D.E.M.O.C.R.A.T stands for Democratic
Ethiopian Movement of Creative Reform and
Transformation and it is an organization first
conceived and founded by Dr. Ghelawdewos Araia in
2009 and then an attempt was made to reach out all
Ethiopians in Ethiopia and the Diaspora; soon
after it began its initial task by establishing a
board of directors, however, because the larger
Ethiopian society in general and the various
Ethiopian communities in particular were polarized
by ethnic politics, the organization was not
launched until September 26, 2012. Even then, it
was impossible to get hold of the diverse
Ethiopian national groups to work together for a
common goal; now, although ethno-nationalist
tendencies have not subsided yet, there are
promising signs that Ethiopians can pull together
for a grand and common Ethiopian national agenda,
and we at DEMOCRAT are encouraged to put the
pieces together, and as a result we have begun our
mission on September 2018 and laid the necessary
operational and guideline infrastructure to
catapult the mission and objectives of DEMOCRAT.
The organizational structure of DEMOCRAT and its
departments as well as the aims and goals of the
organization will be made available for public
consumption at a later date. However, by way of
kicking off DEMOCRAT here below is its mission and
objectives:
Mission and
Objectives of DEMOCRAT
Democratic
Ethiopian Movement of Creative Reform and
Transformation (DEMOCRAT) is an organization of
independent Ethiopians that aim to promote
democratic political culture in Ethiopia through
dialogue and open and free forums. The mission and
objectives of DEMOCRAT are guided by the principle
of national reconciliation and peaceful conflict
resolution; and because DEMOCRAT gives priority to
negotiation via dialogue, its operational strategy
as well as the analytic framework it employs in
promoting democracy is essentially dialogical.
However, the latter should not be perceived as
acquiescence to the status quo; on the contrary,
DEMOCRAT exhibits the highest form of integrity in
its critical appraisal of the Ethiopian political
landscape for the sake of reconciling Ethiopian
democratic forces and help them iron out their
ideological and political differences
DEMOCRAT
is not limited to engaging democratic forces only;
it will also extend its hands to non-democrats and
individuals as well as groups who entertain ideas
and political agendas that are diametrically
opposite to ours (Us, Ethiopians who have been
painstakingly sorting out strategies for
democratic transformation of Ethiopia since the
founding of DEMOCRAT). Perhaps, the only groups
that we will not enter dialogue with could be
elements that wish to violate the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Ethiopia and who would
intentionally create havoc to the Ethiopian
society by serving foreign interests at the cost
of Ethiopian national interest. However, DEMOCRAT
will still engage in debate even with these kinds
of anti-Ethiopian elements in order to expose them
and also clarify our position and commitment to
the Ethiopian people. Thus, irrespective of
ideological, political, religious, and ethnic
affiliations, DEMOCRAT will enter dialogue with
all Ethiopian groupings including the ruling party
and/or the seating government of Ethiopia.
The
Board of DEMOCRAT will soon reach out to all
Ethiopians via its blog and other media tools and
in the meantime for more information, feedbacks,
and questions, contact us via democratethiopian@yahoo.com
|
