to hire a lawyer, even though the money was to be withdrawn from the fund raised by Ethiopian domestic helpers (housemaids) who live in the Gulf states - to be used when they fall on bad times.
Everyone was shocked when drug was found in a FirstAid-like-kit with a syringe in Mr. Jameo's living room inside the Embassy. Mr. Tesfaye, however, didn’t feel the slightest shame when he dryly said: "This is not a drug but a headache medicine." The way Tesfaye tried to defend his close friend made everyone suspect that the two may have had a deal. Furthermore, the two bosses used to pay the salary of the suspected criminal while he was in jail. Very recently, it was reportedly heard the man was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. Though Mr. Jameo was unable to read and write, he was also fancied by the two bosses to be promoted as a liaison officer of the Embassy.
In the middle of this confusion, the Head Office sent a controversial 52-page document entitled, “Constituency Building Plan and Manual”. The core message of the document was that Ethiopian missions abroad should gather detailed information about Ethiopians in Diaspora who were labeled as pro-opposition parties. The information should contain the name, residence, employment, ethnic origin, political opinion and level of political participation, their families, etc of Ethiopians living in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. In particular, the emphasis was placed on having a photo print from the video record of those who are well-known activists and members of opposition political parties so that, depending on the instruction from the Head Office, a lawsuit would be filed against the so-called extremist opposition members and supporters for "crimes of genocide, treason, corruption and embezzlement." Accordingly, the temporary Charge d'Affaires a.i, Ambassador Sulaiman Dedefo, authorized me to prepare a plan, build up the requested information and forward it to the Head Office without any further discussion (See attachments 15 & 16 NB: The full 52 pages document is previously posted in the internet) .
Realizing that this was an outrageous act of blackmail and retaliation, I refused to comply with the order. When the temporary Charge d’Affaires a.i asked me the progress after about a week, I suggested to him that it was not an easy task to compile such information as its legal ramifications were considered carefully. I also told my superior that conducting an act of espionage and invasion of privacy as well as organizing retaliatory measures against own citizens, particularly in third countries, was not only undemocratic and immoral but also an illegal act that contravened the Ethiopian Constitution and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Hence I explained that it was not within the bounds of my duty. The temporary Charge d'Affaires, who was looking for a pretext to put me in a trap from the very beginning, was totally infuriated with my negative opinion. He warned me that my refusal to cooperate in executing the plan amounted to rejection of government policies and I should know that by doing so I protected the interests of extremist Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and other opposition parties who could be affected by the plan. Consequently, he threatened me that my life in the Mission would be short as it almost became impossible to tolerate my excessively incorrigible conduct.
In another attempt to find a pretext to blackmail and attack me, the Charge d'Affaires showed me an article published in the Kuwait Times newspaper in May 2006. The article, which was based on a report by the Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned Ethiopia for lack of press freedom. The Charge d'Affaires instructed me to respond to the Kuwait Times newspaper so that editors of the paper could correct the distorted information that tarnished the image of the country. I complied with the order, and replied a response to the editor, saying the report was ‘exaggerated and inflammatory’. The Charge d’Affaires, however, told me that he was not satisfied with my letter. He threatened me with unspecified measures for failing to address the issue appropriately and effectively. He said I could have compared the constitution and press freedom of Ethiopia with Eritrea's, which he said 'has neither a constitution nor freedom of the press.'
As promised, I received a letter of recall on April 7, 2006 and my my term of office in Kuwait was terminated. After a while, I heard that Ambassador Sulaiman Dedefo told the newly appointed Ambassador during the exit meeting that my views were not correct and asked for joint cooperation in extending Mr. Tesfaye’s pension age that was due after three months. I also heard that Ambassador Sulaiman had promised to hire Mr. Tesfaye’s new wife to fill in one of the posts vacated by those fired local staffs.
As time went by, however, I came to know that more threatening activities similar to the kind of sabotages committed against Ambassador Hanfare were underway against me. Accordingly, in April 2006 the Head Office circulated a letter that ordered the Embassy not to write a note verbal for diplomats asking for visa without the authorization of the Head Office. After a while, the Deputy Head of Mission, called me to the newly appointed Ambassador’s office and asked me to hand over my and my wife’s diplomatic passport. I was puzzled with the request and emotionally reacted saying I need a travel document to go back home. Both of them replied that they were instructed by the Head Office to give me temporary travel document (Laissez Passez). I felt as if the government stripped off my citizenship rights. At this point, I knew I had come to the end of my career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even after that, however, I tolerated all the fabricated allegations, accusations, and serious warnings and determined to wait for the time to go back home, assuming that the maximum penalty would be getting fired.
However, things went from bad to worse when the Head Office sent a circular note that rendered my passport null and void. This confirmed that they were desperate to send me back home. The good thing I had already learned of the information before the Embassy communicated it to the Kuwaiti immigration authorities. With little time in my hand, I left every thing as it was and left for the United States on the night of May 20, 2006 - undetected by Embassy and other security officers who were fielded to follow my moves. Immediately after my defection was known, Mr. Tesfaye Hailemariam, accompanied by TPLF security officer of the Embassy, went to my apartment and confiscated my private properties including my documents, PC and private vehicle, and other things they considered important. The most heart-breaking experience during all this time was that I was just recovering from a serious car accident right about the same time when I was discharging my responsibility as a father of a new-born baby.
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The writer, Binyam Kedir Abdu, can be reached for comments at binyamkedir@yahoo.com.