Alemayehu G. Mariam
Zenawi’s Charm Offensive in America?
Fresh on the heels of shutting down all private distance education, including distance higher education, and “winning” the parliamentary election in May by 99.6 percent, dictator-in-chief Meles Zenawi is scheduled to speak at Columbia University on September 22 and trumpet his accomplishments as the guardian of democracy and prosperity in Ethiopia and provider of enlightened leadership to the African continent. The puffed up announcement for his appearance at Columbia’s World Leaders Forum, which was subsequently withdrawn by an embarrassed University administration, stated:
… Meles Zenawi of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia will present the keynote address on the topic of Ethiopia and African Leadership. His address will launch CGT’s the World and Africa series…. Zenawi has served as chairman of the Organisation of the African Union (1995-1996), as co-chairman of the Global Coalition for Africa, and was appointed as Chair of the African Heads of State and Government in Climate Change (CAHOSCC)… Zenawi was the co-chairperson of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006, which led to the adoption of the Beijing Action Plan for partnership in economic progress. Under the seasoned governmental leadership of… Zenawi…Ethiopia has made and continues to make progresses (sic) in many areas including in education, transportation, health and energy.
The event is designed to facilitate “conversations to examine Africa’s place in the world”. The “key subjects” of the conversation reportedly “include the future of African agriculture, the explosion of Asian investment on the continent, the evolving contours of global aid to Africa, and the impact of the financial crisis on the region.”
Allowing Zenawi to Speak at Columbia is “An Affront to His Victims” of Human Rights Abuses
Nowhere is the case for disallowing Zenawi the right to speak at Columbia University made more convincingly and compellingly than in the letter of two extraordinarily courageous Ethiopian husband and wife team of journalists, Eskinder Nega and Serkalem Fasil, to university president Lee Bollinger. They wrote[1]:
We are banned Ethiopian journalists who were charged with treason by the government of PM Meles Zenawi subsequent to disputed election results in 2005, incarcerated under deplorable circumstances, only to be acquitted sixteen months later; after Serkalem Fasil prematurely gave birth in prison.
Severely underweight at birth because Serkalem’s physical and psychological privation in one of Africa’s worst prisons, an incubator was deemed life-saving to the new-born child by prison doctors; which was, in an act of incomprehensible vindictiveness, denied by the authorities. (The child nevertheless survived miraculously. Thanks to God.)
…While we acknowledge [Zenawi’s] right to express his views, it is an affront to his government’s numerous victims of repression to grant him the privilege to do so on the notable premises of Columbia…
Serkalem and Eskinder are absolutely right in their expressions of outraged disapproval of Zenawi’s speech at Columbia. These are two Ethiopian journalists for whom I have the highest respect and admiration. They are selfless patriots who could be described best in Churchillian terms: “Never in the field of journalism was so much owed by so many to so few.”
I have been approached by various groups and individuals to urge the leadership of Columbia to dis-invite Zenawi or have the university withdraw the offer of delivering the “keynote address”. The reasons are many. Some say mere invitation to speak at the world-class institution gives Zenawi a certain patina of legitimacy, which he could use to hoodwink Americans and camouflage his criminal history. Others say he will try to use the event as a soapbox to disseminate lies about his “accomplishments”, complete with wholly fabricated statistics about “double digit growth”[2] and fairy tales of a 99.6 percent election victory, and use the Forum as a bully pulpit to rag against his critics. There are those who suggest that Stiglitz staged the “keynote address” to give his “buddy Zenawi” an opportunity to clean up his image and build up some intellectual “creds”, which Zenawi could take back to Ethiopia for bragging rights. I respect the views of those who urge Columbia to disinvite Zenawi.
But as a university professor and constitutional lawyer steadfastly dedicated to free speech, I have adopted one yardstick for all issues concerning free speech, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” I underscore the words “everyone” and “regardless of frontiers.”
Alternatively stated, though I condemn Zenawi for his abuse, mistreatment and cruelty against Serkalem and Eskinder and other journalists, disagree with him on his repeated theft of elections, trashing of the human rights of Ethiopian citizens, boldfaced lies about economic growth[2], manipulation of the judiciary for political purposes, unjust incarceration of Birtukan Midekssa, the first woman political party leader in Ethiopian history and tens of thousands of other political prisoners, crackdown on the press and civil society organizations, subversion of the legislative process to mill out repressive laws and his completely bogus theory of “ethnic federalism” (an artifice of his divide-and-rule strategy) and so on, I shall vigorously defend his right to speak not just at Columbia but at any other public venue in the United States of America.
Right to Protest
Let me make it clear that I am not arguing here that those who wish to protest Zenawi’s speech at Columbia should not do so. They should; and I defend vigorously their constitutional right to protest and fully express their views about his actions and policies. My only plea to them is that we should strive to make this opportunity a teachable moment for Zenawi. In my view, it would be a crying shame for Zenawi to hop on his plane and go back to Ethiopia mumbling to himself something about the “extreme Diaspora” and so on because he is heckled, disrupted or somehow impeded from speaking. I say if we can tolerate racist and hate speech on university campuses, we can also tolerate the rant of a petty tyrant for an hour or two.
A Teachable Moment for a Tyrant
My reasons for defending Zenawi’s right to speak are principled, straightforward and myriad:
At the most elementary level, the American university is a traditional forum for the free exchange of ideas, whether silly or sublime. Every year, tens of thousands of speeches are given on American university campuses. Even the representatives of the Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and motley crews of racists and fascists are allowed to speak on American university campuses. By the same token, Zenawi should be able to speak at Columbia.
I realize that this may not be a popular view to hold, but I am reminded of the painful truth in Prof. Noam Chomsky’s admonition: “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” On a personal level, it would be hypocritical of me to argue for free speech and press freedoms in Ethiopia and justify censorship or muzzling of Zenawi stateside. If censorship is bad for the good citizens of Ethiopia, it is also bad for the dictators of Ethiopia.
But there is another set of reasons why I want Zenawi to speak at Columbia. I want the event to be a teachable moment for him. Perhaps this opportunity will afford him a glimpse of the clash of ideas that routinely take place in American universities. He may begin to appreciate the simple truth that ideas are accepted and rejected and arguments won and lost in the cauldron of critical analysis oxygenated by the bellows of free speech, not in prison dungeons where journalists and dissidents are bludgeoned and left to rot. By denying Zenawi the right to speak at Columbia, we also risk becoming prisoners of ignorance. That is why free speech is at the core of Nelson Mandela’s teaching: “A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness.” Free speech is the key by which one escapes from the steel bars and stonewalls of “prejudice and narrow-mindedness.” I sincerely hope Zenawi will find that key at Columbia and finally escape from his bleak and desolate planet of “prejudice and narrow-mindedness.”
On another level, to disallow Zenawi from speaking is an implicit admission that we fear ideas. Zenawi has muzzled and intimidated nearly all of his critics and shuttered newspapers in Ethiopia, jammed the Voice of America and the independent Ethiopian Satellite Television Service and enacted repressive press and civil society laws because he is afraid of ideas – ideas about freedom, democracy, human rights, accountability, transparency, the rule of law and so on. But the old adage still holds true: “There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” In America, we cherish and embrace good ideas (not fear them) and put them into practice; we discard the bad ones in the trash.
But I have a reason that overrides all others. I believe in the power of truth. We can neither defend the truth nor championed it by muzzling the liar. Let Zenawi speak! Let him have his “conversation”!
A Few Topics for “Conversation”
Since Prof. Stiglitz is interested in having a “conversation”, here are a few topics he should ask Zenawi to talk about. How is it that Ethiopia, under his “seasoned” leadership, managed to rank:
138/159 (most corrupt) countries on the Corruption Index for 2010.
17 among the most failed states (Somalia is No. 1) on the Failed States Index for 2010.
136/179 countries (most repressive) on the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom.
107/183 economies for ease of doing business (investment climate) by The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2010.
37/53 (poorest governance quality) African countries in the 2010 Ibrahim Index of African Governance.
101/128 countries in 2010 on the Bertelsmann Political and Economic Transformation Index, and
141/153 (poorest environmental public health and ecosystem vitality) countries in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index.
Fables, Fairy Tales and Q&As
I can imagine Zenawi’s angst at the podium preparing to tell his fables and fairy tales about Ethiopia’s double-digit growth, democracy and leadership in Africa, globalization and its impact on Africa or whatever topic he chooses at the last minute to confuse his audience. It’s all good; fairy tales are entertaining. However, I suspect that the story-telling session will not be the usual cakewalk. At Columbia, unlike his rubberstamp parliament, Zenawi will not be able to scowl at, browbeat, belittle or mock anyone; and unless Stigliz and company rig the Q&A session to give Zenawi only softball questions, he is going to get some heavy duty drubbing from students and faculty. I would wager to say that his speech will not be the usual soporific monologue; it will be a real “conversation”where he will be asked questions that will make him cringe and wince.
I can imagine the audience asking these questions:
Mr. Zenawi, what is the special magical spell you used to win the May 2010 election by 99.6 percent?
Answer: “Say ‘abracadabra’ ten times while holding a rabbit’s foot in the left hand at the crack of dawn.”
When will you stop trashing the human rights of Ethiopian citizens?
Answer: “As soon as you tell me when they started having human rights.”
Why do you lie about double-digit economic growth by using cooked up numbers from your Central Statistics office?[1]
Answer: “There are ‘lies and plausible lies’. Our statistics are of the latter variety.”
Why did you shut down all distance education programs in the country?
Answer: “Because education is overrated.”
Why did you wipe out the private independent media in the country?
Answer: “Because they don’t like me.”
Do you really believe the Voice of America is the same as Rwanda’s genocide Radio Mille Collines?
Answer: “VOA, VOI (Voice of Interhamwe). It all sounds the same to me.”
What do you think of your critics in the U.S.?
Answer: “They are all friggin extremists in the Diaspora. I can’t stand them. Why? Oh! Why don’t they like me?!?”
Do you believe in the rule of law?
Answer: “Yep! I am it.”
When will you release Birtukan Midekssa, the only woman political party leader in Ethiopian history, from prison?
Answer: “‘There will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.'”
“If there are no more questions, I am outta here!”
Just at that moment, I can imagine President Bollinger leaping to his feet with index finger wagging in righteous indignation and proclaiming: “Mr. Prime Minister, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator.”
We are All Ears!
Let Zenawi speak! Let’s hear what he has to say. Will it be the usual cascade of lies, half-truths, buzzwords, platitudes, clichés and boiler plate economics hokum bunkum? I have no idea. Over the past several days, Stiglitz and crew have been playing the old switcheroo on the topics Zenawi will be talking about. First, they said Zenawi will speak on “Ethiopia and Africa leadership.” They changed that and said he will talk about “the current global economy and its impact”. Now they say he will be talking about “the current global economy and its impact on Africa”. It is not clear what expertise Zenawi has on globalization or what morsels of wisdom he may be able to impart, but Stiglitz should have no problems writing a nice scholarly-sounding speech for Zenawi to read. After all, the “impact of the global economy on Africa” is the snake oil Joe “The Globalizer” Stiglitz has been peddling for the past decade.
Regardless, Zenawi may have something worthwhile to say. I don’t know. We won’t know unless we hear him speak. The bottom line is that Zenawi would rather go blind than face the naked truth about his atrocious record over the past two decades, but we are not afraid to confront his best dressed lies at the World Leaders Forum. At the end of the day on September 22, when the fog clears over Columbia, Zenawi would have walked off the stage at the Low Library as he walked on it: An emperor with new clothes! So I say: Rap on, Emperor. Rap on!
Welcome to the land of the free and home of the brave!
FREE BIRTUKAN MIDEKSSA AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN ETHIOPIA.
[1] http://www.ethiomedia.com/augur/3900.html
[2] “The Voodoo Economics of Meles Zenawi”, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ethiopia-the-voodoo-econo_b_542298.html
17 thoughts on “Mr. Zenawi Goes to College!”
what i failed to understand is that it was him and his comrades who got their degrees from distance education. So is he telling us that he benefit nothing from his dist. education?
YES! YES! YES!….I want him to speak. That is wonderful Alemayehu! we want to hear it. Unless otherwise they claim they are deaf, the colombia society heared what Meles is and his cruel behavior from the depora. I am confident that the students and faculty will cook him very well
I agree with Professor Alemayehu. Though, I don’t think other speakers like Ahmadinejad of Iran, were supported and had the blessings and admirations of the Columbia University President Bollinger and the CU Professors like Sachs and Stiglitiz. Bollinger, Sachs, Stiglitz and others that admire the very man that has denied basic freedom to Ethiopians, and a man that has incarcerated and killed hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians, are going to lay a red carpet for the killer. My suspicion and great concern, is that, the auditorium might be filled with Meles’s puppets and supporters, and with the help of DLA and his supporters, the easy questions might have already been selected for their favorite dictator. And once again shamelessly, Meles might get away with his propaganda without being challenged. I hope and pray, that Meles gets grilled and cornered and challenged.
perfect article!!!go go go go go!!!lets show the world what ethiopians really think of meles zenawi.civilized protest!!!
Thank you Brother Al GM. Do you think these two pseudo=professors doing this all alone? I don’t think so. They have been working on a project given to them by their peers for many years and finally they think they got what they wanted – a one-party state. The recipe for what they wanted has the following ingredients:
1) Any viable opposition has been harassed, jailed, killed or forced to flee for its life and reduced to powerless factions.
2) The population is successfully cowed and beaten down to submission exposing itself to famine and utter desperation.
3) The goon has successfully purged all and any possible ‘opposition from its own ranks. Just look at the most recent conferences and subsequent choosing of leaderships.
4) The army is well organized and cleansed of any possible flagrant elements through a series of the so-called ‘gimgema’ purges.
There is an abundant supply of easily trainable literate population.
5) The trend in Southern China is a concern because workers are asking for more benefits and better working conditions. I know this first hand.
6) The goon is undoubtedly eloquent and calculating they are looking for.
Therefore, I can tell you this: These shameless professors will never return your email or call for attention. They are hell-bound stubborn blood-suckers. They anyone who criticize the Dracula from Dedebit is a ‘Dergist’. EU is Dergist; Brothers Elia, AL GM are all Dergists; those who wrote the human rights report in the US State department are Dergists; Eritreans are Dergists; AL Shbaab is Dergist; Even the cup of coffee they are about to drink has Dergist in it. And when you press them hard and expose them, they will cry foul with the same old ‘Anti this and anti that’ name calling. After you read articles these two wrote about this goon in the past what you find out about them is that they are a disgrace to their family and profession. They are just scabs of the lowest form.
Good Job AL MARIAM!
Have you checked out Meles Zenawi’s page? While the showdown at Columbia is going on, here is an incredibly easy accessible propaganda for the wolf/hyena/ዝንጀሮ/snake/King of Assyria/Prince of Egypt – in one, who sits on David’s Thone and spins the world in dangerous direction. Next project: All lies Wikipedia page of Meles Zenawi
KeymanWeb
Indeed everyone has the right to freely express his mind. No one dispute this. The problem comes when the Mighty expresses his mind freely and all the beneficiaries create the media for him while the weak, the desperate, and the unfortunate are locked and will not be able to challenge his ideas or defend themselves. It was one thing to have all the media for himself at home; he has been granted free access by the Brits to use BBC on crucial occasions to buy a name for himself or to maintain the one he has. And now, another great and wide door is opened for him at Colombia. Meanwhile, the woman he locked and psychologically tortured is silently suffering and had no way to express herself. And of course, the professors at Colombia, however good intentioned they may be, are foreign to the sort of suffering she is living in.
The fact is, No ONE will remember the questions asked to and the answer obtained from a Keynote Speaker. Except, perhaps, the pedants. The real people who will be exploited by the whole show and drama of things will only remember that the person was given access to one of the best universities in the world because he was smart. This is an indirect but a premeditated exploitation of the weaks, and if you will, the uneducated. The professors at Colombia know it, and purposefully laboured for it. This I call injustice.
I went and looked at the video of the entire Ahmadinejad of Iran’s discussion at Columbia. To my surprise, I learned Amadinejad is a PHD, a graduate of Tehran
University of Science and Technology. He taught at a University and was an academician to say the least. For some “unknown” :-)reason, I thought of him of a run of the mill Islamic extremists. Not.
It was a humbling experience for me. I am afraid one doesn’t have the luxury not to engage in discussions with such leaders of countries of the world, let alone your own. I urge folks to watch Dr. Amadinejad at Columbia if you haven’t yet.
Thank you Brother Al GM. Do you think these two pseudo=professors doing this all alone? I don’t think so. They have been working on a project given to them by their peers for many years and finally they think they got what they wanted – a one-party state. The recipe for what they wanted has the following ingredients:
1) Any viable opposition has been harassed, jailed, killed or forced to flee for its life and reduced to powerless factions.
2) The population is successfully cowed and beaten down to submission exposing itself to famine and utter desperation.
3) The goon has successfully purged all and any possible ‘opposition from its own ranks. Just look at the most recent conferences and subsequent choosing of leaderships.
4) The army is well organized and cleansed of any possible flagrant elements through a series of the so-called ‘gimgema’ purges.
There is an abundant supply of easily trainable literate population.
5) The trend in Southern China is a concern because workers are asking for more benefits and better working conditions. I know this first hand.
6) The goon is undoubtedly eloquent and calculating they are looking for.
Therefore, I can tell you this: These shameless professors will never return your email or call for attention. They are hell-bound stubborn blood-suckers. They think anyone who criticizes the Dracula from Dedebit is a ‘Dergist’. EU is Dergist; Brothers Elias, AL GM are all Dergists; those who wrote the human rights report in the US State department are Dergists; Eritreans are Dergists; AL Shbaab is Dergist; Even the cup of coffee they are about to drink has Dergist in it. And when you press them hard and expose them, they will cry foul with the same old ‘Anti this and anti that’ name calling. After you read articles these two wrote about this goon in the past what you find out about them is that they are a disgrace to their family and profession. They are just scabs of the lowest form.
As Ethiopians, we should not entirely oppose to the plight of the Muslims/Arabs. Sometimes it seems like they are fighting our fights for us. The Chaldeans or better known as Americans from the South have this inbred and automatic enimity toward us: Carter, Bush and even Clinton. Under their watch nothing happened, acutally it only got worse for us. Remember that Carter and H. W. Bush launched Zenawi, that is they launched the perfect Wolf of the millenium inside the sheepfold; they could not have done a better job than that. For Americans themselves, they did superbly well as a country when they were ruled by presidents from the Midwest. There is a proof in history that when the West humuliated the Semites, the children of Ishamael jumped on the West. We know nothing.
September 21, 2010
Iranian President Defends Record
Midtown Manhattan
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR The New York Times
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran ran through his standard talking points at his annual gathering with American journalists on Tuesday — denying that dissidents languish in jail or that economic sanctions were biting, and rejecting the idea that Tehran deserves anything less than a gold star for its nuclear inspection record. But this time, he embroidered his remarks with a little fresh bluster. Seated at a conference table surrounded by news editors and television producers, the Iranian president told his breakfast guests that, should the United States attack Iran over its nuclear program, it would get embroiled in a war that would make previous American conflicts pale in comparison. “The United States has never entered a real war, not in Vietnam, nor in Afghanistan, nor even World War II,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said during the meeting at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, part of what has become his ritual charm offensive when he attends the United Nations General Assembly. “War is just not bombing someplace. When it starts it has no limits.” At the same time, he rejected the idea that tensions would ever reach that point, dismissing the threat as mere psychological warfare. “We have always been prepared to talk,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said. Relations between Iran and the United States have remained fraught since the United Nations passed a fourth round of sanctions in June — which were supplemented by additional measures passed by the United States and Asian and European nations. The United Nations nuclear watchdog said earlier this month that Iran has since refused to give inspectors access and information about its nuclear program. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but American officials have said it is moving closer toward “nuclear weapons capability.” On Tuesday, Mr. Ahmadinejad blamed politics for the pressure and criticism from international inspectors, saying that they had access to Iranian nuclear sites and that his country was operating in line with international nuclear treaties. “Iran’s nuclear case is a political case,” he said. “Otherwise, why would it be essential for the details of our nuclear program be made available to the media?” He continued: “What we do is legal. We always stand beind the law.” Mr. Ahmadinejad also defended Iran’s judiciary, which faced a barrage of criticism after more than 100 journalists, activists and government officials were arrested following his disputed re-election in June 2009. This summer, an Iranian woman’s death sentence by stoning on an adultery charge, which has not been carried out, set off new rounds of international condemnation. But on Tuesday, Mr. Ahmadinejad told reporters, “You do not understand our judicial system.” “Whatever happened is done under the supervision on the judge, disciplinary forces and the intelligence,” he said. “We do not have anybody in prison in Iran without the rule of the judge. The judiciary is independent.”
Meskerem መስከረም 17 (September 27)
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, ONE GOD. AMEN.
On this day is celebrated the festival of the Honorable Cross መስቀል of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be praise, for this is the day on which the holy woman, the Empress Helena, beloved of God, mother of the righteous Emperor Constantine, revealed the Cross, for having cleared away the hill of Golgotha she found [there] the Honorable Cross. And why did this great hill come into being? It was because of the many signs and wonders, which were made manifest at the holy tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ; for the dead were raised, and the paralytics were healed, and the sick were made whole. And because of these things the Jews were furiously angry, and they sent forth a decree throughout all the country of Judea and Jerusalem ordering that every man should cast the sweepings of his house, and the ashes, and offal of every kind on the grave of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the Jews did this for more than two hundred years, and the ashes and the offal formed a very great heap, and they did so until the Empress Helena came to Jerusalem. And Helena seized certain Jews and shut them up in prison until they told her where the grave of our Lord Jesus Christ was, and she forced them to remove that hill, and the Honorable Cross was discovered. And she built a beautiful church for it, and she consecrated it, and she made a great festival in honor thereof on the seventeenth day of Mesekerem, which is this day. And all the Christian people came from all their countries to Jerusalem, and they made a great festival in honor of the Honorable Cross, similar to the festival of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now as certain Christians were journeying along the road, there was with them a certain man, a Samaritan, whose name was Isaac, and there were many Samaritans with him. And that Isaac the Samaritan was jibing at the Christians and reviling them and saying unto them, “Why do ye trouble yourselves in vain? Why do ye go and bow down before a mere log of wood?” And among the Christians was a certain righteous man, a priest whose name was ‘Odokis (Eudoxius), and as they were traveling along the road some of the Christians became thirsty, and they could not find water to drink. And they arrived at a certain well, and they found in it foul and bitter water, and they were suffering greatly from thirst. And Isaac the Samaritan began to laugh at them, and he said unto them, “If your faith was the True Faith this foul and bitter water would change itself and would become sweet water.” And when ‘Okokis (Eudoxius) the priest heard these words from him, he became moved with a divine zeal, and he debated with Isaac the Samaritan. And Isaac the Samaritan said unto him, “If I saw any power in the Name of the Cross then I myself would believe in Christ.” Then the holy man ‘Odokis (Eudoxius) prayed over that foul water, and it became sweet immediately, and all the people and their animals drank there from. When Isaac the Samaritan was athirst and wished to drink of the water which was in his own water-skin, he found that it was stinking and that there were worms in it. And he wept very bitterly, and he came to Saint ‘Odokis (Eudoxius) the priest, and he bowed down at his feet, and he believed on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he drank of that water which had become sweet, through the prayer of the holy man ‘Odokis (Eudoxius). Now there was in that water such great power that it became sweet to those who were believers and bitter to the infidels and pagan folk. And there appeared in that water a cross of light, and they built over that water a beautiful church. When Isaac the Samaritan came to the city of Jerusalem, he went to the bishop, who baptized him with Christian baptism, him and all the men of his house, and they entered the Christian faith and became believers. Now the Honorable Cross appeared unto them on the tenth day of Megabit, but as they were unable to celebrate a festival in its honor during a fast, they celebrated its festival on the day of the consecration of the church, which was the seventeenth day of Mesekerem, the day of its appearance in the holy tomb. –Ethiopian Synaxarium
What a hypocrites! Columbia University giving this DICTATOR and BLOOD Sucker an opportunity to speak in this prestigious University based on “Free Speech” cover. The hypocrisy is this dictator doesn’t give a damn about the free speech and is putting people in prison because they express any dissent. I honestly don’t see a point or logic of giving a free speech platform for a dictator who crashes and kills people for simply excericing their free speech?
As University, Columbia should have done an elementary kids reaserch and find out how cruel and double speaker this DICTATOR is. He has done a horrible things to Ethiopians, Somailians and Eritreans and there is no point of listing his atrotices to the University that doesn’t do a basic reaserch and respect HUMANITY.
Shame on you President Bollinger and the organizers. The least you could’ve done is either cancel the event or take accountiblily and responde to the whole Africans (who expressed their dismay at the University) in a press realese or other venues.
One dictator is worthless than tarnishing this Univeristy image and also lossing the respect of Africans and all peace loving people in the world. Do the honourable thing President Bollinger!
I agree with Dr. AL. It is better to face the dictator in the hall with questions than protesting his speech. Let him answer those questions that he is not comfortable to talk about such as his statement on the continued imprisonment of Birtukan, his stolen elections, his order to massacre innocent civilians and so forth. Let us take this opportunity to expose what kind of person is leading Ethiopia which is always in the limelight for poverty and hunger. Let us show the world that it is not the climate that is causing havoc in Ethiopia. it is a western backed petty dictator named meles who thinks good talk is goo enough to convince the west.
Professor Al,
As much as I admire you and agree on most of your writings, I completely disagree with this free speech argument. A tyrant who doesn’t believe in FREE SPEECH shouldn’t be given that opportunity unless it’s in a debate format, period! This debate approach is what we’ve all missed to pressure Columbia’s Meles’s cronies and the President, regardless the staff and students could only attend!!! A lesson learned. One able person would have beat Meles by stating simple facts!
If it wasn’t to these out rage and anger of Ethiopians and other peace loving Africans and human right advocates, these argument of it’s OK for sake of free speech wouldn’t sway or pressure or keep changing the subject at Columbia University. MELES would have an easy day cake walk at Columbia University.
FYI, this is my writing to the Columbia U President and the organizers.
What a hypocrites! Columbia University giving this DICTATOR and BLOOD Sucker an opportunity to speak in this prestigious University based on “Free Speech” cover. The hypocrisy is this dictator doesn’t give a damn about the free speech and is putting people in prison because they express any dissent. I honestly don’t see a point or logic of giving a free speech platform for a dictator who crashes and kills people for simply exercising their free speech?
As University, Columbia should have done an elementary kids research and find out how cruel and double speaker this DICTATOR is. He has done a horrible things to Ethiopians, Somalians and Eritreans and there is no point of listing his atrocity to the University that doesn’t do a basic research and respect HUMANITY.
Shame on President Bollinger and the organizers. The least you would’ve done is either cancel the event or take accountability and response to the whole Africans (who expressed their dismay at the University) in a press release or other venues.
One dictator is worthless than tarnishing this University image and also losing the respect of Africans and all peace loving people in the world. Do the honorable thing President Bollinger!
Yours,
African Canadian.
This is a wrong analysis. This is not a question of whether Zenawi has the right to speak or not. The issue is whether Columbia should hand a dictator a big megaphone so that he could drown the voice of others. The question is, ‘should you enahnce the voice of a dictator who muffles the voice of others?’ The issue is, should you by giving him a forum help him to legitimize his rule? Columiba is not a government, and therefore, the question of whether he has a free speech does not in most cases arise.
Proffessor you should know better.
Abboma