Meet Ethiopia's Sarah Palin.

THIS PAST WEDNESDAY, THE LEADER OF UDJ, BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA WAS RELEASED AFTER SPENDING CLOSE TO TWO YEARS IN KALITI PRISON. UPON HER RELEASE, SHE WAS GREETED BY MANY OF HER SUPPORTERS AT THE PRISON GATES AND AT HER NEIGBORHOOD KNOWN AS FERENSAI LEGASION. WE ALSO MUST NOT FORGET THE MANY PEOPLE THAT EXPRESSED THEIR GRATITUDE THROUGH DIFFERENT MEDIA OUTLETS. HOWEVER, ASSUMING THAT THIS SHOW OF SOLIDARITY BY HER SUPPORTERS IS NOT A REHEARSED DRAMA ORGANIZED BY THE LIKES OF DR. NEGASO GIDADA AND SIYE ABRAHA, WHO HELPED STAGE THE SAME KIND OF RECEPTION UPON HER RELEASE IN 2008 ONLY THIS TIME HIM AND HIS FRIENDS COULD NOT COME UP WITH THE MONEY TO BUY HER A " GIFT ", DOES SHE REALLY DESERVE SUCH A WONDERFUL TREATMENT FROM ETHIOPIANS ? LET'S EXAMINE THAT, SHALL WE ? I HOPE IM NOT OFFENDING ANYONE BY RECALLING THE TIME WHEN SHE WAS TPLF APPOINTED SITTING JUDGE AT THE HIGHEST KANGAROO COURT OF THE CURRENT POLITICAL MACHINE IN ARAT KILO PALACE. IT IS THEN THAT SHE RELEASED MR. SIYE ABRAHA BY CITING LACK OF EVIDENT ALTHOUGH IT WAS LATER REVEALED THAT SHE DID SO BY MISTAKE, OR ONE CAN SAY BY NOT QUITE UNDERSTANDING THE RULES HER APPOINTEES HAD SET UP FOR HER TO GUIDE HER DECISIONS WITH. WE ALL KNOW THE MELES REGIME DOES NOT APPOINT ANYONE TO SUCH A POWERFUL POSITION, ALTHOUGH ITS BY NAME ONLY, UNLESS HE OR SHE IS PROVEN TO BE LOYAL TO THE TPLF/EPRDF POLITICAL GUIDELINES. THAT BEING SAID, I DO NOT SEE WHY HER FOLLOWERS IN THE SHABIA ADMINISTERED CURRENT AFFAIRS DISCUSSION ROOM IN PALTALK AND ELSEWHERE REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE MEMBERSHIP OF ALL THOSE " SUPPOSED " EX-TPLF/EPRDF LEADERS AND SELF CENTERED TRAITORS IN HER PARTY ? IS SHE NOT EX-TPLF/EPRDF SERVANT HERSELF ? BESIDES, WE ALL KNOW SHE IS A SINGLE MOTHER WHO BORE A CHILD OUT OF WEDLOCK, A DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES ONE CAN NOT EXPECT FROM A SUPPOSED " OPPOSITION LEADER ". WHO VOTED HER TO BE THE LEADER OF ALL THE OPPOSITION CAMPS TO BE ENTITLED " OPPOSITION LEADER ". AS FAR AS I KNOW, SHE IS ONLY A LEADER OF THE CALLED UDJ, A PARTY FORMER AFTER ITS LEADERS AND THEIR FOLLOWERS BROKE RANKS WITH THE LARGEST AND STRONGEST PARTY AEUP, WHOSE MEMBERS AND OFFICES ACCOUNTED FOR THE COALITION FOR UNITY AND DEMOCRACY AKA CUD. A PERSON IN HIS OR HER RIGHT MIND WOULD NOT EVEN CALL THE LEADER OF AEUP, THE LARGEST POLITICAL PARTY IN ETHIOPIA JUST BELOW THE RULING EPRDF, " OPPOSITION LEADER ", A TITLE THAT INDICATES THAT HE OR SHE IS A LEADER ENTRUSTED BY OR REPRESENTING THE MAJORITY OF OPPOSITION PARTIES IN ETHIOPIA. ALSO LET US NOT FORGET THAT BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA JOINED CUD THROUGH THE BACK DOOR WITH HELP FROM DR. BIRHANU NEGA, FOUNDING MEMBER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE THEN KESTEDEMA PARTY. IT IS ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT BIRTUKAN JOINED CUD AFTER THE VOTES WERE CASTED, WHICH GIVES US A REASON TO QUESTION WHETHER SHE VOTED FOR HER FORMER EMPLOYERS OR THE PARTY SHE JOINED UNNOTICED ? DR. BIRHANU PERSONALLY MADE HER HIS PARTY'S NOMINEE TO RUN FOR THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF CUD THAT LEAD TO HER BEING THE VICE CHAIRWOMAN OF THE PARTY. THE REASON WHY DR.BIRHANU RAILROADED HER TO SUCH A LEADERSHIP POSITION UNDER HIS WING IS ANOTHER STORY I WILL DISCUSS AT A LATER TIME. BIRTUKAN CAME TO THE SPOT LIGHT WHEN SHE WAS THROWN IN PRISON IN A MATTER OF WEEKS SINCE SHE BECAME VICE CHAIRWOMAN OF CUD. SHE WENT TO KALITII PRISON ALONG WITH THE ENTIRE CUD LEADERSHIP, MEMBERS, JOURNALISTS, CIVIC ORGANIZATION LEADERS, AND ACTIVISTS AS DID INNOCENT CITIZENS WHO DARED TO STAGE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION AGAINST MELES AND HIS MAFIA LIKE ORGANIZATION. FOLLOWING THEIR RELEASE FROM PRISON, THE INTER PARTY FEUD AMONG THE LEADERS CAME TO A COLLISION IN FRONT OF OUR EYES. AS EXPECTED FROM SOMEONE WHO CUD SUPPORTERS AND THE PEOPLE AT LARGE HAD NO ANY KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT SO EVER, BIRTUKAN TOOK THE CENTER STAGE IN WIDENING THE DIVISION THE PARTY MEMBERS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS ALIKE. FIRST OF ALL, AFTER HER RELEASE FROM PRISON, SHE DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO EXPRESS HER CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LOVED ONES TO BULLETS FIRED BY AGAZI MILITIA. IN HER FERENSAI LEGASION NEIGHBORHOOD ALONE, FOUR MEN LOST THEIR LIVES WHILE TRYING TO BLOCK SECURITY FORCES WHO WERE ON THEIR WAY TO ARREST BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA. INSTEAD SHE WAS BUSY PREPARING HER VISA TO FLY OUT OF THE COUNTRY EAGER TO SEE WASHINGTON DC AND THE REST OF NORTH AMERICA. AFTER ACCOMPLISHING SUCH A TASK OF DESERTING ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE IN ORDER TO FULFILL HER PERSONAL AMBITION, SHE QUICKLY WENT RIGHT TO DOING HER ASSIGNMENT BY RUTHLESSLY ATTACKING CUD CHAIRMAN ENG. HAILU SHAWEL IN PUBLIC, POLARIZING THE DIASPORA MY ENSIGHTING RACIAL TENSIONS BETWEEN TIGRAYANS AND THEIR FELLOW ETHIOPIANS, AND FINALLY BY TESTIFYING AT THE US CONGRESS THAT THERE ARE " ONLY 100 " POLITICAL PRISIONERS IN ETHIOPIA. WOW ! MELES CAN'T GET A BETTER WITNESS THAN THAT. WAY TO GO OUR LEADER BIRTUKAN. I FEEL DISGUSTED WHEN I SEE PEOPLE CELEBRATING HER AS IF SHE IS THE ONLY FEMALE EVER INVOLVED IN ETHOPIAN POLITICS. SOME OF HER FOLLOWERS WENT EVEN AS FAR AS COMPARING HER TO NELSON MANDELA, KING TEWDROS, BELAY ZELEKE, QUEEN TAITU, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. I MEAN, COME ON PEOPLE ! OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE WHO BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA REALLY IS. IN FACT SHE IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING QUALIFIED TO BE A PARTY LEADER, LET ALONE A POLITICAL FIGURE.