BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | ForeignPolicy.com
Maintaining good relations with autocrats is an unfortunate but often necessary component of the delicate balancing act that is U.S. foreign policy. But as Washington learned once again this week, supporting an strongman for the sake of stability can present risks of its own. Here are eight more alliances that could prove embarrassing.
Meles Zenawi
Record: The 2010 election, in which Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s party won a remarkable 99.6 percent of the vote, was the culmination of what Human Rights Watch called “the government’s five-year strategy of systematically closing down space for political dissent and independent criticism.” This included attacks and arrests of prominent opposition figures, the shutting down of newspapers and assaults on journalists critical of the government, and doling out international food aid as an incentive to get poor Ethiopians to join the ruling party.
In addition to attacks on domestic media and NGOs, the government also jammed broadcasts by Voice of America and Deutsche Welle in the run-up to the elections. The U.S. NGO Freedom House downgraded Ethiopia to “Not Free” for the first time in its annual Freedom in the World survey this year.
U.S. support: Bordered by Sudan and Somalia, Ethiopia benefits from being an at least nominally pro-American government in a very dangerous neighborhood. In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton described Zenawi as the leader of an “African Renaissance.” Washington’s strong support for Addis Ababa continued under President George W. Bush, who saw Zenawi’s primarily Christian government as a bulwark against Islamic extremism in East Africa, and poured in millions in military aid. Bush opposed legislation linking military aid for Ethiopia to human rights and gave tacit support for the country’s 2007 invasion of Somalia.
The rhetoric is somewhat less enthusiastic under the Obama administration — the State Department strongly criticized the 2010 election, for instance — but the U.S. will continue to fund Ethiopia to the tune of $583.5 million this year, despite evidence that the government is directly using this aid to suppress dissent. … [Read More]
8 thoughts on “Meles Zenawi, America’s other most embarrassing ally”
Joshua writes “maintaining good relations with autocrats is unfortunate but often necessary component of the delicate balancing act of U.S. foreign policy.” I completely disagree. I could understand during the Cold War appeasing autocrats for the purpose of containing Russia’s influence as a necessary component. But not now. Yes, after September 2001, U.S.A., in the name of dwarfing the influence radical was recruting dictators who promised they would serve as foot soldier for its interest. One of the beneficaries of this new arrangement was and still is Meles Zenawi. Washington should shy away from the old,tired belief that practically translates in the third world countries the voices of the people do not matter, only the dictators are to be heard. Tunisians a while ago and Egyptians now are sending a message: Washington has to choose between the people and the dictator’s interest. Always no doubt the interest of the people and the dictators do not converge. The Meles regime purposely fed Washington a lie that says if EPDRF lose power Ethiopia will no longer exisit. Washington appears to buy this fairy tale. It is time to bury this EPDRF’s political interest serving lie that has existed for the last two decades. The Washington foreign policy makers should be advised that EPDRF can no longer in position to force down its political and economic policy on people’s throat as it used to. The economic collapse that Ethiopians are experiencing now is the turning point. No matter how much foreign aid will be delievered to EPDRF in the name of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government cannot pull the country out of her misery. In no time in Ethiopian history, Ethiopians are grim about their future as is now. And eventually they will do something dramatical to lift the gloom that was imposed on them. Yes, Joshua: Maintaining good relation is unfortunate as you righly stated, but not necessary component as you seem to have believed.
No doubt, just like Mubarak’s fate, a day would also come when Zenawi and his enablers partnership whould shamefully come to an abrupt end.
Power to the People! Let Freedom Ring!
ETHIOPIAN REVIEW,
Thank You for your continuous support for the freedom of Ethiopia.
Keep it up and we are with you.
Thank You once again.
freedom in tunisya,now in egypt next in Ethiopia’
In most cases the interest of the west is not exactly the interest of the people. Anything that would remotely tamper with the smooth flow of resources, at a minimal cost, is not tolerated. The rest is simply window dressing. So what if Meles and company have stashed away billions, violated human rights, stole an election etc… Most dictators did not start out to be dictators, but the nature of the business is a one way street. Like the roach motel were one can check in but never check out.
Even in Egypt dictator Mubarak and his army who have been softened and making secret tactical moves and buying time for themselves by appeasing and pleasing the oppositin demonistration have now gathered enogh momentum and are coming out to Attack the demonistration and crash the entire upring which may be an extremy negative implication for the entire oppressed African people languishing under the ossified and brutal dictatorship.
The opposition should have come up quickly with an all encompassing unified organization being lead by credible, nationally and internationally accptable charismatic leader. Time is also of the essnece because the fastest EATS the slowest in this sort of struggle.
Hope for the best!
Who in the U.S influence and guide the direction of foreign policy? Formally the elected body-congress, and the president.However, behind the scene powerful private clubs such as CFR push the interest of Trans- national corporations and international banker’s interest. Usually the consensus reached by this body finds it way in the congress to be an official policy of the nation.
The U.S general public, drawing largely from the value and experiences of U.S democratic governing principles,as well as based on convictions that all men every where have deep thirst for freedom and pursuit of happiness, holds U.S relation ship and monetary assistance to foreign powers primarily need to be based on stipulation to promote peace, free speech and, democratic governance.
What we have is the blending of the two party system bent to serve the interest of the globalist elite,
Under the guise of national interest. This business of sleeping with racist tyrants in Africa and the west’s growing
Financial
Support to these regimes,
in spite of repression and torture in these countries is becoming embarrassment.
Fortaunately, the general public in the third world is taking matters in its own hands by setting off popular protests against western supported tyrants.Also, there is growing grass root movements in the U.S itself to curb the corporate take over and political subversion of the few and put the responsibility back in the hands of the public.
The one world government and one world order mantra serves only the few world elites and their few tyrannical cohorts elsewhere. We are marching and the decadent repressive forces can not hold back the popular movement galvanizing the developing nations.
$ 583 millions? I do not think the Tea Party likes this kind of spending. May be we ought to let them know. Just an idea.