ብዕር እና ባሩድ | Beirna Barud

The author Andualem Aragie in his new book "Beirna Barud" or "the pen and the gunpowder" compares the 1974 Ethiopian revolution and the 2018 political rupture in Ethiopia. He tells his readers that though both political upheavals were largely nonviolent at the beginning, they both were hijacked at the end. These unsuccessful transactions were followed by bloody civil wars as a result. The author reiterates that, because of the diminished role of the pen over the gunpowder the Ethiopian people are still fighting the agony of death because of endless civil wars. Andualem states that while impunity is taken as the stamp of authority by the current ethnic-based leadership, the Ethiopian youth is engaged in a mortal combat against each other in different regions of the country, and lawlessness has become the order of the day.

The book argues that the three major questions the Ethiopian Student Movement raised, Land to the Tiller, the Question of Nationalities and the establishment of People's Government still remain unaddressed. Thus, the culture of valorization of war has gotten the momentum in the hearts and minds of the youth more than ever making the future of the country murkier. The author therefore reinforces his long-held belief that the road to sustainable peace, brotherhood and development could only be obtained from the power of the pen not from the corroding and dehumanizing effect of the gunpowder.

In a unique approach Andualem presented the views of selected 18 informants under the Title "from the horse's mouth", ranging from participants of the Ethiopian Student Movement, members of Derg, leaders of different political parties and notable people who participated in the struggle that broke the yoke of EPRDF.