Election defeat, vengeful murder, and reign of terror
It is
now beyond contention that the ruling cabal in Ethiopia has suffered a
humiliating defeat in the May 15, 2005 election. The people of Ethiopia have
expressed their wish, the verdict was simple and left no room for doubt:
After fourteen
harrowing years, if we, the people, are to have our say
on who should rule us and how our country is to be
governed, then a
change of government is in order!
In
simple terms this was the message that the Ethiopian people tried, in vain, to
get across to the ruling elite on May 15, 2005.
Ordinarily,
in a democracy, the landslide victory of the opposition would have been greeted
by a gracious acceptance of defeat by the losing side and it would have been
accompanied by a smooth political transition. At the same time, the losing
camp would have began its own long and difficult process of reflection,
introspection, and transformation in order to revive its political fortune and
recapture the competitive edge it somehow lost in the political landscape. But,
this is no ordinary democracy and it is no ordinary dictatorship either.
Apparently, the ruling clique, which seemed to have been living in a bubble of
its own, was caught unprepared to face, even with a modicum of statesmanship,
the political tsunami that was to come its way by way of election results. In
its wake, the election left a ruling oligarchy that is both stunned and stung
by the scale as well as the intensity of the rejection it endured in full-view
of the international community, the very community it tries hard to hoodwink
and fleece in the name of democracy and good governance. After all, for the
ruling clique the election was meant to produce nothing but an outcome of a unique
quality, a win by the EPRDF and an enlarged yet inconsequential
representation of the opposition in its rubber stamp parliament. The calculated
payback for the clique was political legitimacy and a full-fledged membership
of its leader, Mr. Meles, in the exclusive club of legitimately elected world
leaders. Mr Meles, the head and the
in-house strategist-in-chief of the ruling oligarchy[1],
seemed to have thought he will somehow slog and sneak his way to the dream
club. Unfortunately for him that was not to be, the Ethiopian people stood on
his way!
In the
immediate aftermath of its election defeat the ruling clique found itself in a
precarious political ground and isolated, it felt threatened and insecure in
its position. Thus, it bid a hasty retreat to a familiar political terrain
where the rule of law is supplanted by the rule of the jungle, where ethnic
differences are relentlessly exploited with impunity for the selfish political
ends of the cabal, where the public is reduced to an object of intimidation and
vengeful terror to be punished and cowed into submission. Emasculated of its
democratic garb, the thuggish and vengeful self of the ruling cabal came out in
force and undisguised, once more the beast began rearing its ugly head.
Eventually, it was let loose, on the streets of Addis Ababa, on a
stone-throwing-youth and an unsuspecting public going about its daily business
on a sunny beautiful Wednesday morning on the 8th of June 2005,
And
a murderous orgy
erupted …a cry of anguish was heard in Addis, …
weeping and
mourning unrestrained…Ethiopia weeps for her
children, refusing to be comforted – for they are
dead.
On that
Wednesday morning and in the days and weeks that followed ordinary law abiding
citizens were savagely attacked and their humanity violated in the most
atrocious and vengeful way throughout the nation for no other reason than
voting their conscience in an election organized and sponsored by the
government itself and for demanding that their votes be counted. This tragic
episode is not an isolated incident; it is part of a long established pattern
of government-sponsored violence, intimidation, and terror against ordinary
citizens over the last fourteen years that need to be confronted![2]
According to news reports streaming out of Ethiopia in recent weeks, even
before the current round of atrocity draws to a close the ruling clique is busy
planting the seeds for the next. Where will this madness ultimately lead the
country? – Pray for Ethiopia,
compatriots and friends!
The
wanton destruction of life as well as the murderous zeal and callousness with
which it has been carried out over the last couple of weeks have outraged the
conscience of citizens and friends of Ethiopia the world over. In spite of being
held hostage under the gun, Ethiopians at home are doing their best to resist
the reign of terror instituted by the ruling cabal nation-wide. United by a
sense of outrage, Ethiopians in the Diaspora as well are doing a tremendous job
of exposing the state sponsored atrocities and terror campaigns currently
reigning supreme over our land. The seemingly endless reports of protest
rallies held in world capitals, communities, towns, and cities across the globe
in solidarity with the plight of the much-suffering people of Ethiopia are
beacons of hope and sources of encouragement to all Ethiopians, both at home
and abroad, in this difficult period for our country.
Amid
this unprecedented outburst of energy, commitment, and spirit of solidarity;
one cannot help taking note of the growing influence the Ethiopian Diaspora can
have, if it so chooses, on shaping the course of politics and socio-economic
development in our country for the better. While the role of the Diaspora in
the democratization process in Ethiopia cannot be decisive, it, nonetheless, is
critical. The Diaspora community is blessed with many privileges and
opportunities that it can take advantage of to enhance and promote the cause of
peace and democracy in Ethiopia:
(1) As a community, the Ethiopian Diaspora
enjoys access to a relatively larger margin
of disposable
financial resources that it can channel in support of democratic forces
at home,
(2) The Ethiopian Diaspora has direct, though
limited, access to the halls of power and
influential world media outlets both in
the US and Europe. This is a privilege
that the Diaspora community can utilize
to expose the genocidal acts, human rights
violations, and
political abuses of the ruling clique at home and effectively discredit
it in the face of
the international community, and
(3) Most significant of all, the Ethiopian
Diaspora constitutes that part of the Ethiopian
soul that is free and empowered. Thus,
as a community of free men and women, the
Ethiopian Diaspora needs to live up to
its responsibility, the duty to strive earnestly
and unrelentingly to help redeem and
rescue that part of it that still is suffering under
the yoke of tyranny - the tyranny of
power and poverty.
So far,
the great potential of the Ethiopian Diaspora to influence the course of events
at home for the better had largely been left untapped. At best, the
input of the Ethiopian Diaspora to the democratization process at home has been
reactive, sporadic, and spasmodic largely dictated by the ebbs and flows of
events there. Often times in the wake of a national tragedy at home, which is
of late recurring with increased frequency and lethality, the largely docile
and uninvolved Ethiopian Diaspora erupts into a bout of protest rallies,
fundraisers, etc., united on the main by the collective outrage and anger that
such crimes instill in the clean conscience of the decent men and woman of the
Diaspora community. Invariably, these activities reach fever-pitch levels in
the immediate aftermath of the tragic event or series of events that triggered
it only to die-down shortly afterwards and be followed by a long spell of
inaction and a state of disinterestedness - or shall we call it paralysis.
While such episodic high-intensity involvements are necessary and helpful in at
least temporarily soothing the pain and suffering of our compatriots in the
hands of the ruling clique and its cadres; in terms of their long term impact,
however, they leave a lot to be desired. The problem with such pattern of
involvement is that our influence on events at home has become as fleeting and
temporal as our passions are. This ought to change and change radically; if
we, the Diaspora community, desire to make a meaningful, substantive, and
consequential contribution to the political process at home. In essence, the
Ethiopian Diaspora needs to devise a mechanism to mobilize, harness, and
channel its resources in support of democracy in Ethiopia in a manner that is
systematic, sustained (persistent), and proactive[3].
Such important objectives can be accomplished only through a strong
communal organizational framework at the international level,
which the Diaspora community has yet to establish[4].
It is
to be emphasized here that this is NOT a clarion call for the
formation of another political party that is larger, or smarter, or richer than
all those around, NO! The intent here is to stimulate discussion
among the men and women of the Ethiopian Diaspora on how to come together and
join forces in a spirit of unity to form a communal platform[5],
a focal point, on which our sense of community, citizenship, and
duty is anchored firmly in solidarity with the plight of our fellow
compatriots who are suffering under the yoke of the tyranny of power and
poverty. A platform through which the Diaspora community can effectively
channel its resources - be it financial, intellectual, or otherwise – in
support of democracy, harmony, peace, and socio-economic development in our
land. This is a platform on which the
Ethiopian Diaspora will not only be the benefactor, but both the benefactor and
at the same time the beneficiary. Here
are just a few of the responsibilities and tasks that such a body can
accomplish on behalf of the Diaspora community in a sustained and systematic
manner:
(1) Effective and sustained fund raising,
(2) Channeling financial, intellectual, and other resources of
the Diaspora in an effective and sustained manner in support of democracy at
home,
(3) Organizing socio-cultural events on regular basis
throughout the world to raise funds, to introduce the rich culture and
tradition of Ethiopia to the international community and at the same time
highlight the plight of the Ethiopian people under dictatorship and poverty,
(4) Organizing protest rallies, workshops, exhibitions, etc.
worldwide on regular basis to expose the genocidal acts and human rights abuses
of the ruling clique and thereby discredit it in the face of the international
community,
(5) Creating an effective mechanism/instrument to legally
confront, and seek accountability for, the atrocities and genocidal acts of
murders and ethnic-cleansing that have been perpetrated by the ruling cabal and
its associates throughout the country since 1991,
(6) Providing community services to members and newly arriving
Ethiopian immigrants abroad,
(7) In the long run, as it matures and gain in strength, such a
body can take upon itself responsibilities that are more weighty and of long
term nature (socio-economic issues): poverty, HIV/AIDS, education, individual
as well as communal investment, etc..
(8) …
(9) …
.
.
.
Un/fortunately,
to be a part of the Ethiopian Diaspora today is a privilege, but it is also a
responsibility; it is an opportunity, but also a challenge! The question of the moment is: will the
Ethiopian Diaspora rise up to the challenges of the day and take advantage of
the opportunities it presents and help Ethiopia free itself from her suffering
under the yoke of the tyranny of power and poverty?
In a
word the answer to the question, posed in the title of this note, is: Organize,
Organize, and Organize!
[1] Mr. Meles is a
fairly able political technician, albeit straight out of an archaic Byzantine
mold, but he is no strategic thinker. His record as a politician is littered
with strategic blunders of monumental proportions, all of which had to be
redeemed by the ….., tears, sweets, and resources of Ethiopians and Ethiopia.
It is no secret that Mr. Meles’ utter failure at the strategic level is wholly
rooted in his singular lack of vision and statesmanship, leadership attributes
anchored on weighty principles. The capacity to form and hold onto principles
is all too burdensome a baggage to carry for Mr. Meles. In essence, Mr. Meles
and by extension his cohorts are political organisms that live by the primeval
instinct of survival and expediency (a condition of nature) than the high
principles that underpin the strategic interests of a nation. This
modus-operandi of theirs often renders
them out-of-kilter and off-balance in the political scene, causing them to limp
and lurch in and out of seemingly endless crises. The tragedy of it all is it
is Ethiopians of generations to come that are to pick up the bills, bills that
are to be redeemed by ……
[2] Allow me to digress a bit to reminisce and remember lives
lost, hopes cut-short, dreams and potentials left unfulfilled; all due to a
long series of genocidal atrocities committed by a cabal that seems to have set
itself on a pedestal that is over and above the rule of law. The Bedeno Massacre
of 1991/92, the Arssi internecine conflict of 1992/93, the murder of scores of
peacefully protesting university students in Addis Ababa in 1993, the forced
dislocation (ethnic-cleansing) of thousands more from various southern
provinces of the country between 1991-1997, the 2001 massacre of dozens and
ethnic-cleansing of thousands more from the province of Wellega, the murder of
more than 40 unarmed protestors in Addis Ababa in April 2001, the killing of at
least 38 peaceful protestors in Awassa in 2002, the massacre of over 200
protesters in Tepie in 2002 and the genocide of over 400 citizens in Gambella in December 2003 are some of the
high profile atrocities perpetrated by the ruling oligarchy and its underlings.
These and other atrocities of the ruling elite have been archived in great
detail and specificity in the records of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty
International, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council.
[3] Of course it is involvement need to be carefully
circumscribed in areas where it could be useful and effective
[4] At this juncture, as we look forward we need to
acknowledge and give due credit to a few dynamic, diligent, and patriotic
citizens who endeavored hard to keep us informed, inspired, and better
organized, often times at a great
cost to themselves in terms of
finance, time, and emotion during the tragic events of the last few weeks in
our country. Without the voluntary individual
efforts and leadership demonstrated by those few citizens; the Ethiopian
Diaspora may have found it difficult, if not impossible to channel the power of
its outrage in a meaningful and consequential manner!
[5] At the local, national, continental, and international
level
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