In an article posted on The New York Review of Books today, William Easterly and Laura Freschi question why Western nations finance the brutal repression in Ethiopia with an annual donation of over $3 billion to the corrupt junta [read below]. It is good to see that Western scholars and writers are finally taking the World Bank and other poverty mongers to task. However, ultimately it is up to the people of Ethiopia to get organized and overthrow the apartheid junta. Woyanne is not as powerful as it currently appears. A well-coordinated nation-wide economic boycott campaign can bring it down in less than a month. A simple act of cash withdrawal from banks by a large number of people would cripple the financial system and bankrupt the regime. — Elias Kifle
Why Are We Supporting Repression in Ethiopia?
By William Easterly and Laura Freschi
Foreign aid observers have often worried that Western aid to Africa is propping up autocratic regimes. Yet seldom has such a direct link from aid to political repression been demonstrated as in “Development without Freedom,” an extensively documented new report on Ethiopia by Human Rights Watch. Based on interviews with 200 people in 53 villages and cities throughout the country, the report concludes that the Ethiopian government, headed by prime minister Meles Zenawi, uses aid as a political weapon to discriminate against non-party members and punish dissenters, sending the population the draconian message that “survival depends on political loyalty to the state and the ruling party.”
5 thoughts on “Foreign aid doing more harm than good in Ethiopia”
Citizen journalism is the way to go!!! Main stream media…CNN, BBC & the likes serve the foreign policy of their respective countries & rely on adverising money of corporate financers who also work in cahoots with the regimes as is clearly indicated in the very first chapter of John Perkins book …’Confession of an economic hit man’. It’s nice to see these academics coming out and spilling the bean on the US, UK & their instruments of oppressions, the CIA, WB, IMF, USAID & all the others who Eva Gollinger collectively refers to them as the same dog with different collars in her book titled the Chavez Code , which I highly recommend for a fantastic reading, which is a book armed with facts and leaves the opinions for yourselves unlike what the main stream media who sweat day in day out to brainwash us to shape our opinions with little or no facts for collaboration.
I really admire the citizen journalism that is increasingly tightening the rope on those who wants to control us & our opinion. Wikileaks, and other blogs, YouTube and many more e-media is turning the table on the mainstream media which is becoming, increasingly, marginalized & will soon become a thing of the past. CNN & BBC are the last thing I would watch for my news. They are obviously stooges.
I’m proud that my country stood up against all these instruments of oppression from as early as the mid 90’s. No wonder that we were attacked left, right & centre. We would rather be enemies of these world power than enemies of our own people. As it says in the bible in James 4:4 …
“You Adulterers, don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, youmake yourself an enemy of God”
Meles, despite a mortal enemy of his own people, he is a friend
the bestest of friend of the world….. Where he is always amongst them dining and wining as recently as last week in South Korea with the “World” leaders despite starving killing and humiliating his own people at home on a daily basis. They are not my leaders and not the leaders of the free people, despite coining that label of “world” leaders to themselves.
Just justice or no justice.
I don’t know ifyou know about the poll tax riot in London in 1990, the BBC doctored the footage to make it appear that it was the demonstrators who instigated the violence when if fact it was the police who provoked and battered the peaceful demonstrators yet the BBC lectures the world how a peaceful demonstrators were mowed down in Tainamen square that same year. The BBC was revealed as big tie hypocrite by citizen journalist. Now in this day & age, the people have learned a lesson, making it even more painful for the BBC who usually manipulates situations to shape public opinion like it did when justifying colonialism and other injustices committed by the UK government but often appearing non-partisan in internal politics. One recent set backd for the BBC is when it came to report the last year’s demonstration against G20 where puppet Meles was amongst the guest of tyrants, the BBC found themselves reported abd almost every demonstrator were armed with video camera which made BBC’s job difficult as they are always used to doctoring and damage limiting and exxagerating events to suite their political agenda.
That’s why these uncorrupted academics should be admired for their citizen journalism that should otherwise should have been done by the 24/7 corporate mainstream media but wouldn’t do it for it doesn’t suite their current political agenda. Everyone should be armed with a recording equipment (audio, AV or anything) and counter the false media which has become almost irrelevant.
Citizen journalism should be employed to achieve a just justice.
America is finacing the decline of Ethiopia. If they say they are doing it inadvertantely, then it must be clear that they are harming our ability in the long run to survive as a nation.
So right Elias. If what you studied is true, in terms of remittance is what is bloating the Meles regime then we must starve it! Besides, there is no longer normal living in Ethiopia anymore. You either have to be TPLF member or the following will happen to you:
1. You will be monitored
2. utilities and water are cut
3. You are set up and told that you need to pay tax you owe and bankrupt you
4. jobs are available only to TPLF members
5. If you have decent income you need to share it with TPLF
6. If you have great idea to develop the country, you are told to develop in Tigray first, they also learn your idea, steal it and tell you that you can’t do the development here and therefore they apply the idea to development in Tigray themselves.
7. if they know you have money or brought money from West, your hard earned money to develp your country, they welcome you first only to tell you they have to share the money otherwise you can’t develop your country, the list goes on and on…. so
As a result people are migrating to die on ships while transfering to other repressive Arab countries. Those who are lucky come to the West. What is then the point sending remittance to Ethiopia? We are enriching TPLF regime. So as Elias said starve it.
What is worrying now is the U.S is finally going to occupy Yemen to fight terrorism this could affect Ethiopia meaning, U.S will be working hand and glove with the TPLF regime therefore, TPLF is going to be bold even more and repress more. What we can do is convince U.S that Meles regime is not making Ethipia safe from terrorism that moderate, non pro ethnic, seeking unity rather than division type of leaders and leadership is important for Ethiopia. The question is who? We better be ready to recruit people like Birtukan, Berhanu, Gidada, Oromo leader (forgot his name who is Political science professor from A.U, applogies for forgetting his name) To tell you the truth, I don’t see any other Amara or Tigray as leaders as Tigrayans seem indifferent and Hailu or Lidetu are absolutely not to be trusted as they sold their soul to TPLF and therefore, will betray Ethiopia once again. People that come to my mind are those I mention above. Would like to add also Girma Birru, of course there should be more. So we need to prop of these people we want to choose as leaders rather than playing division among oursleves. These leaders tell us they are the best we have so far and we need to prop them up asap.
The Eritrean are surviving without aid.
Can Ethiopia survive? Yes we can, Yes we can; just do it.