A year of absurdities

By Sereke Berhan

May 24, 2006

1. In May 2005, tired of waiting for unfulfilled promises and determined to reap the benefits of democracy, the people of Ethiopia, in an unprecedented show of civic power and fortitude voted for better governance. But they were denied the fruit of their effort even though they sent a clear message to the dictatorial rulers and the world that they wanted change. The overwhelming lack of support for the government all over the country was obvious even to the most inept observer, but Westerners made a conscious decision not to see beyond their interest. They sacrificed the Ethiopian people for timely gain betraying the country in a shameless conspiracy, as they did in the past, after promising to stand by the people at a time when they needed real help.
2. The brutal rulers who once pretended to abide by the rules of democracy suppressed the people’s rights, looted the country’s resources, promoted hatred, compromised the country’s interests and cheated in the election. Yet they were handsomely rewarded. The Yara Foundation and others even went as far as honoring the prime minister and his mafia group at a time when he actively and in clear view of the world soiled the sacred tenets of democracy.
3. Influential foreign governments who claim to promote democracy encouraged and assisted the dictatorial rulers to continue denying the people their basic rights. Contrary to what is universally assumed these governments had no qualms about the way the people are treated and failed to show any significant sign of concern or compassion about the plight of Ethiopians and their imprisoned leaders.
4. Foreign diplomats and donors took up the unsolicited duty of making decisions on behalf of the Ethiopian people in a blatant violation of their mandate and sphere of responsibility. Yet they never saw anything irregular or absurd about this kind of meddling and kept on making the situation worse by their incessant interference. The Ambassadors’ Donors Group arrogantly continued pushing its boundaries and dictated conditions as to how and in what way Ethiopians should assert their rights.
5. Some respected statesmen, diplomats and others made irresponsible, biased and dishonest decisions/remarks, which compromised the people’s vote at a time when Ethiopians needed the support of prominent men and women with integrity and good will for humanity. Former President Jimmy Carter, in stark contrast to his image as an elder statesman was observed making contradictory remarks and maintained a deafening silence even when civilians were brutally massacred on the streets of Addis Ababa. He is still silent about the prisoners of conscience when many widely respected organizations have started recognizing the unconstitutional actions of the government. Many have called for the immediate and unconditional release of the prisoners, yet no word has been uttered by the former president.
6. Those who stood up for truth were chastised and rudely condemned by the government and its ranting propaganda machine. The courageous and truly honorable Ana Gomes was verbally assaulted and threatened in a cheap attempt to silence her for pointing out a better way and for speaking the truth. Yet those who claim to hold high moral and ethical standards watched silently when truth was assaulted and honesty trampled upon.
7. Honest men and women who struggled for peace, unity and democracy were criticized, abused and imprisoned while those who promote ethnic division, hegemony and dictatorship are given free reign to destroy the country.
8. Poverty is deepening in the people’s eyes but the government and its supporters claim that the country’s social, economic and environmental conditions are improving as if the people don’t know how to identify the fruits of development and good governance. Many government officials and outsiders fail to recognize the fact that GNP is not edible. They keep harping about how the country is different compared to the Derg years as if such comparison would ease the pain and suffering of the poor or arrest the deteriorating living conditions of the expanding population.
9. Young men and women were accused of inciting violence and massacred in broad day light for demonstrating peacefully. The fearful and cowardly government retaliated with unnecessary force purely motivated by ethnic hatred. Yet Western governments dismissed this sinister incitement to spread violence as the growing pains of an emerging democracy. The Ethiopian people through their inherent wisdom, compassion and discipline calmed the situation by embracing their brothers and sisters from all ethnic groups. The demonic intents of the government were exorcised by passive resistance. Yet the government and its foreign supporters fail to recognize the foresight of the Ethiopian people and continue trampling upon their rights mistaking their patience for fear and weakness.
10. The government claims to have accomplished so much in Addis Ababa—the city where the excesses of the vampire elite show how detached the government has grown from the people. To satisfy the needs of the parasitic elite, a new airport complex, a luxury hotel, a half finished ring road and some modern amenities, which have no significance in improving poor people’s lives have been haphazardly erected. A housing boom is underway designed to help government officials, party operatives and their cronies achieve millionaire status instantly through illicit means. Despite its claim of a miraculous achievement, the government was overwhelmingly rejected by most of the city residents who happen to be poor. Still none of those in the government and their supporters could discern the fact that those who they assumed to have benefited the most rejected the government outright. Those who are presumed to have received residual benefit as a result of the superficial development it boasts about have said no to the government. The theory that people in rural areas who got nothing from the government except abject poverty would vote for it is a ridiculous assumption. Unless, of course they are afraid of retaliation. Yet Westerners have embraced the absurd notion of an urban – rural divide, which is non- existent in Ethiopia, to help explain the government’s claim to power.
11. Government officials confirmed their miseducation, arrogance and ineptitude on the media exposing their unfettered hatred, crooked wisdom, mediocre diplomatic ability and compromised integrity. Yet they were hailed as a new breed of leaders with a better vision for the country than honest, well educated, and enlightened men and women who presented a better alternative to dishonest governance.
12. Ethiopians made the election happen through their perseverance, hard work, sacrifice and discipline. Westerners are quick to give undeserved credit to the government for allowing elections as if the election was a gift that the Ethiopian people idly waited to receive from the mystical being called TPLF/EPRDF. Many fail to recognize the fact that democracy happens because the people want and make sacrifices for it to happen, not because some dictator offers it as a gift. Yet Westerners, the self appointed custodians of democracy, are determined to spread its name without its content all over the world to suit their needs. They keep missing the fundamental philosophy of democracy and try to package it, by remote control, in a way that satisfies, not the people’s, but their own aspirations.
13. Opposition politicians, civic leaders, and journalists are imprisoned accused of inciting violence and attempting genocide. In a frivolous charge that could be regarded as the mother of all absurdities, the honorable men and women elected by the people to lead the country are languishing in prison simply because they refused to betray their conscience. Knowing very well that these true sons and daughters of Ethiopia were charged falsely, Westerners are calling for a “fair and speedy trial.” Men and women who should be nominated for the Nobel Prize for their exemplary fortitude, perseverance and selfless values are incarcerated like common criminals. Yet the Western world, which claims to defend democracy at any cost, is reluctant to call for the immediate and unconditional release of these precious sons and daughters of Ethiopia for reasons that are beyond comprehension.

In addition to what they endured for years in the form poverty, diseases and hunger, the Ethiopian people were forced to bear these and many more absurdities in the past year. There is no logical explanation to these absurdities except to say that the government and its foreign supporters are motivated by greed, hatred, arrogance and indifference. The madness is more likely to get worse before it gets better and this unnecessary mess will be yet another additional burden for Ethiopians to rectify, thanks to those who betray their conscience for personal gains.