Introducing Dr. Solomon Inquai

By Kindeya Berhane

April 18, 2003 

Con Coughlin, while introducing Saddam to his readers of his book said "writing a biography of Saddam Hussein is like trying to assemble the prosecution case against a notorious criminal gangster." Similarly, assembling the background of Solomon Inquai is a complex enterprise in its totality. 

To say few words about Solomon, he is an Asmarino born in the most popular shanty suburb of Asmara known as Aba Shawl. He was brought up in Aba Shawl, went to school in Asmara, Harrar Teachers Training, the former Haile Selassie I University and hell knows where he went next. The resume of his work experiences includes teaching, Director of the University Students National Service, Head of the extension program in the former H.S. University, the King's Education Attaché in the Ethiopian embassy in the former Soviet Union.  

When his government was over thrown by a popular uprising in 1974 and hijacked by the military junta known as Derg, he escaped into exile where he joined a dubious institution known as International Extention Unit (IEX). Solomon Inquai represented this "educational" institute in Khartoum, the Sudan, for the most part of the Derg era. From his base in Khartoum, his main duty was to monitor the TPLF on behalf of Eritrea. During his stay in the Sudan his frequent acquaintanceship was with EPLF elements more than with natives of Tigray. He had no single relationship, what so ever, with other Ethiopians.  

Concerned with Solomon Inquai's dubious characteristic and lifestyle, some of our comrades and me, including Martyred Hagos Atsbeha - the brother-in-law of Areagawi Berhe who got murdered in the heavy hands of Sebhat Nega, attempted to discover Solomon's ancestral link to Tigray, but to no avail. In particular, Comrade Hagos Atsbeha, who was a master of the knowledge of Who-is-Who in Tigray worked very hard to unveil the real identity of Solomon, and to his dissatisfaction as well as ours, he couldn't find any one with close or distant biological relation to the culprit.  

In one of the many events of my discussions with Solomon Inquai, Dejazmatch/Dr. Zewde Gebreselassie happen to become the subject matter. To my surprise, Solomon Inquai tried to belittle Dr. Zewde as a "good for nothing man" who preaches Abay Ethiopia/Great Ethiopia and he said it with out the slightest hesitation in his mind. At the time, the famous _expression of "Abay Ethiopia" was the common language of all Eritreans under the umbrellas of the ELF and EPLF.  

What ever the roots of Solomon could be, we have ascertained, beyond reasonable doubt, that Solomon Inquai, like the many infiltrators such as Yemane Jamaica was an in plant of the EPLF for the service of the Eritrean secession from "Abay" Ethiopia. If one is born and brought up as Asmarino, biology seems to be purely irrelevant when we witness many high ranking officials including President Isaias, whose mother is a native of Tigray, are running Eritrea.  

Solomon used to be a worshipper of the current Eritrean president until his anger reached the ceiling of his tolerance following the TPLF and EPLF conflict. Since he was in the dark to understand about the real cause of the conflict, he didn't like the use of force by the EPLF to reclaim Badme. At present, his great concern is to curtail the downfall of Meles and Sebhat/Welde Selassie Nega that will leave Eritrean independence in jeopardy. I have no problem to understand that this is a legitimate concern as far as Solomon is concerned. In order to avoid the ousting of Meles and Sebhat, there is no stone that Solomon will leave unturned. His priority, among the various engagements in his hands, is to assure a regime change in Eritrea as soon as possible; however, his assignment to overlook into the affairs of the so-called ENA is not by any accident.

During the 1985 famine in Tigray, Solomon became very much involved in the work of the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) a "humanitarian wing" (read Fianancial Department) of the TPLF. On becoming suspicious of Solomon's activities and lifestyle in the Sudan, we started to check what exactly was the business running inside the Sudan Extension Unit (SEU) - a subsidy of the IEX. Among many other things, we discovered that the entire establishments of the SEU were entirely meant only for Eritreans. Despite Solomon's claim of his association to Tigray, REST, and the TPLF - not a single person from Tigray was nor a staff member neither a student of the SEU. Actually it was revealed to us that the SEU was an institution practically reserved only for Eritrean persons with close association to the EPLF. 

It may look irony, but this is the very person who is now the Speaker of the Parliament of the State of Tigray, thanks to the vacuum created in the height of the Meles/Sebhat grand purging of the now TPLF descents, former high rank TPLF leaders. Today, strategically well-posted in Tigray, Solomon Inquai is the care-taker and coordinator of the Eritrean National Alliance (ENA) under the immediate supervision of Sebhat Nega, whose biography, though difficult like that of Saddam and Solomon, is a must to be carefully researched. 

Credible intelligence indicates that a memorandum of understanding is filed between the TPLF and the ENA that the former, with the association of Sudan and Yemen, will help to oust the Eritrian government and the latter to surrender the symbolic village of Badme to Tigray and in return to be awarded with the hot chair in State House of Asmara. In a protocol agreement within that memorandum, there is also an understanding between the parties that, in future; they will work out together to establish a federation/confederation formula between Tigray and Eritrea. It is from this "humble" background of an Eritrean cause that Solomon Inquai is at the forefront of the TPLF dogs now barking loudly that Badme is Ethiopian. 

I have always wished to introduce Solomon Inquai to my fellow Ethiopians. But, I had left it aside as I have higher agenda than working on a dying cow, until I was today provoked by the contents of an article of Solomon Inquai, which I read posted on Aiga website.  

In short, Dr. Solomon's article is based on his reading a book concerning the historical struggle of the African-Americans to achieve their democratic rights under the worst circumstances and violation of their human rights while at the same time fulfilling their national obligations. The message is that we must demand democracy while fulfilling our obligations to the Meles regime. The article, well crafted in good English of a scholar, is not only misleading, but also totally irrelevant and alien to our situation in present Ethiopia. 

To begin with, the African-Americans then and there were fighting for their basic human rights against a state of governance that was not, by all means, threatening the very existence of their dear country, America. In our case we are running out of time before our beloved country will perish from the map of the globe under the brutal and divisive regime of Meles Zenawi. We wish to tell Solomon that in contemporary Ethiopia, democracy is the second item on the agenda of the Ethiopian people.  

Under the prevailing circumstances in our country, Ethiopians are ready to embrace dictatorship-of-convenience, provided any dictator would serve in his or her menu that save the very existence of our beloved country. Let any dictator dictate over us by binding all Ethiopians together as members of one and solidly united and loving family since we always prayed for unity in equality. Thanks to the mishandling of our affairs by the Meles regime of the mafia, we are forced to bow down so low to the bottom of shame and disgrace to the extent of blessing the old bad days under Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam and Emperor Haile Selassie.  

In the second place, It must be clear and clean for Dr. Solomon Inquai that our soul and mind is just ready to set aside our unbending struggle for democracy, human rights and the rule of law, at least for the time being, considering that this is a fair price to pay as a cost for our assurance the unity of our people and country. We will relinquish every thing under our disposal simply for the purpose of the sure survival of our people and country. 

In conclusion, I ask Dr. Solomon to take our message to his masters that we are saying enough is enough and that we are going to do first things first, at least for the first time. And the first thing we would achieve to assure our existence and that of our beloved country is, to chase out the Eritrean infiltrators within the TPLF, including yourself, and inside the so-called "All Amhara Democratic Movement" that includes culprits such as Bereket Simeon & Co. Full Stop.  

The next time we may speak to you will be in the Mekele wehni'bet; or in your home of exile - only if you are very lucky to escape from the eyes of the people of Tigray. Adivederchi signore Dottore Solomon Asmarino.  

May the Almighty God Bless us for Unity in Equality of the Ethiopian People!