After suffering a humiliating defeat in N. America, the Woyanne thugs are now heading to London licking their wounds. Fortunately, London is full of brave Ethiopians who consistently fought back and scored victories against Woyanne. As a result, London is a Woyanne-free zone. This coming Saturday there is another opportunity for London Ethiopians to shine, although they will have a hard time to outshine DC and Los Angeles Ethiopians.
Place: Imperial College, Sherfield Building, South Kensington Campus
Address: Exhibition Road, London Sw7 2AZ
Time 1:00 PM
Silence in the face of evil is a venomous, traitorous, debilitating disease to which we Ethiopians have fallen. The battle for the sovereignty of a nation is between those who oppress free men and those who seek to set free those same men. In Ethiopia’s case, one side has been missing for years. Our recent history has been convenient for those who choose a weapon rather than those who seek knowledge, for those with the genuine knowledge and understanding of democratic process have been silent.
To be educated is to ask and question. It is to speak for the oppressed and the weak. It is not to side with the oppressor for momentary gain or selfish interests. Silence is deadly, like all internal disease; it eats you slowly, eventually leading to an emotionally dreadful and psychologically agonizing death. Silence mutes all your senses until you can no longer even think of the intellectual slavery to which you have become a victim. This is Ethiopia’s great plague, particularly amongst the educated and those who live outside the country: a plague of silence.
“Evil prevails when good men fail to act.” – Edmund Burke
In times of great oppression, we must pick sides; indecision will only help the oppressors while silencing the victims. Ethiopia is not short of intellectuals, thinkers or patriots; our predicament is silence. We have chosen not to see the atrocities being committed against the poor and helpless of our nation by our own brothers and sisters. We have chosen not to listen to the call of our brother and sister farmers as multinational corporations, invited by our own government and in cooperation are evicting them from their ancestral homes. The minority of Ethiopians in power have been successful at destroying the sovereignty of this nation because the majority chooses to do nothing.
o Before we shout down the treacherous dealings of dictators …
o Prior to condemning the current regime for total failure…
o Ahead of the inevitable revolution…
o Prior to questioning other Ethiopians’ true grit and patriotism…
o Before going back to the over-debated history and indictment of our ancestors for their flaws…
We must first question ourselves and ask, “What have I done for my country lately?” The silence of those who are good and understand freedom is what has kept us oppressed and trapped in a downward social spiral. When a person’s birthright to be free is taken by the barrel of a gun, it is those who understand the injustice who must stand up and be heard. When an act of evil is done, against the will of the innocent and the sovereignty of the nation, we must not only question those who committed the crime but also those who did nothing and remained silent. They have chosen to put their individual wealth and greed above the lives of millions of homeless children and hungry majority of the nation. All this poverty exists despite the country’s wealth, a country we all call home. So, what have you done for your country lately?
“Do not hesitate or you will be left in between doing something, having something and being nothing”. Ethiopian Proverb
Our ancestors were brilliant, beyond our imagination. They defended what was theirs not for reasons of pride, but National identity. They understood the strength of a sovereign state and they defended her resources. They stood and fought for the country, not for a tribe, group or individual. Those who choose not to see the atrocities and travesties of our nation through foreign influence. I ask you to look no farther than or ancestors. Why didn’t they ever trust foreigners? Why is it they died defending the nation? They not only understood patriotism but also believed they were Ethiopia, with out sovereignty and national values a country cannot prosper or function as a state.
In their “sayings” our ancestors left us coded message of wisdom and understanding of life, community and Nation. Their understanding of state and the individual was far more advanced than that of Europeans. While Europe evolved and adapted with the time and affecting changes, we chose to stand still. All the saying of the past on the wisdom of silence, do not apply when silence becomes the venom to our agonizing downfall. Silence is harmful, when those who see the injustice continue to ignore, what they see and understand to be inhumane. More often than not the voices of the poor and oppressed do not make it in to the history books. History will not record your silence in history, but they will tell of the atrocities of those currently in power, while we watched.
“When money speaks, the truth is silent.” – Russian Proverb
Freedom is expensive and painful. Taking into consideration the true future awaiting this country, my brothers and sisters, the time to take action is now. We must stop using Western models of development, as they are designed to benefit Western nations and corporations. When it comes to the West’s efforts in helping to develop Africa, words like “White Guilt” are used as a double standard to distract us from the atrocities and theft that continue to take place in Ethiopia and the continent.
The partnership of Ethiopian politicians and Western corporations is an international crime ring. Western politicians continue to preach, “Africa is not ready for democracy.” This quote is the mantra behind the looting of the continent for the benefit of the West. For capitalism and consumerism to benefit the West, they must rob the resources from the weak and innocent. Ethiopia is at the center of a global fight between the powerful and the powerless. We must not let this opportunity pass us by without leaving a mark on history and changing the course of our nation.
Democracy Is Taken, Not Given!
I say, “Freedom is taken, not given!” Change must resonate within each individual before the community, city, and nation can ignite to form a blazing resistance, capable of standing any opposition. Ethiopians must first be free before applying democracy to social and political structures. Regardless of background, education, profession, occupation, or gender, this is the time to be heard. Stand up! Be heard. Live with dignity.
“The sin by silence, when they should protest makes cowards of men.” – Abraham Lincoln
Education is a tool to protect the innocent from the flaws of the past and to help them create an appropriate future. Have we become so selfish and self-indulgent that we have forgotten the good in our hearts and are willing to sell out our own brothers and sisters?
“Eat when the food is ready. Speak when the time is right.” – Ethiopian Proverb
Sadly, we are heading towards the phase of governance that every oppressive government goes through: the people’s revolt. The sadness comes not from the act but from the innocent lives that must be lost and the destruction the nation must incur because a few individuals choose not to adapt and evolve with the changing world.
“Unless you call out, who will open the door?” – Ethiopian Proverb
What is it we are leaving for the next generation, politically and socially? A centralized ethnic government with undemocratically elected bureaucrats who stole elections and traded political offices? The small minority of political and social elitists owned the country’s economy and wealth while looting the central bank. They saved their money overseas in the banks of the same institutions that they begged for handouts in the name of Ethiopia. We divided the nation into tribal states and then used ethnic tension as a tool of oppression and control. What is the legacy of this generation?
The central government—the perfect blend of totalitarian and socialist rule—loaned out fertile land to foreign entities, thereby loaning a big portion of the economy. The rulers sided with multilateral corporations for momentary gain and political protection.
A leader who was jack-of-all-trades, master of none. A man who knighted himself a man of the people, an expert on the need of the average person, while investing in Western organizations and selling out national interests for political gain.
The heartbreaking truth is MOST OF US STOOD AND WATCHED.
“The cruelest lies are told trough silence.” – Robert L. Stevenson
The unity of Ethiopians from all walks of life, has once again, demonstrated its discipline and determination to face off delegates of one of the most brutal regimes in Africa. The politically motivated and hastily organized trip and meeting by the delegates with the Ethiopian Diaspora community in Washington DC, Howard University, woke up a sleeping giant – and indeed the giant gave them what they deserved.
This is not the first time the brave and gallant Ethiopian protesters have stood for justice, human rights, and respect for the rule of law. Something special about yesterday’s demonstration was that the unity among its diverse ethnic groups, the zeal and the unwavering determination of the Ethiopian youth for social justice, and the shock and awe that it gave to the delegates.
The Woyanne regime’s rent-a-crowd, and rent-a-thug policy did not work to deter the voices of the demonstrators, who were chanting and shouting in unison that reverberated over “Howard Square”. At the end of the day, the auditorium inside Howard University, the delegates, and their selfish opportunists were not able to sustain the thunderous voices and rants of justices that were echoing. Well, the result was that the officials of Howard and Police had to cancel the meeting.
During the last few weeks, the Woyanne regime has been giving us agenda after agenda in such a short period of time. At one time they engaged everybody by raising the issue of Eritrea. Meles was openly discussing about the overthrowing of his onetime patrons in Eritrea, and then he shifted gears and came up with building a Mega Dam over the Nile River – and to facilitate the construction, the brutal regime came up with fund raising through issuance of government bonds.
It is no-brainer why the regime in Addis is doing all these things at this crucial moment, and in a very hasty way. Ethiopians, especially the youth, have been following the political tsunami that has engulfed North Africa and the Middle East with interest and enthusiasm. The conditions that forced the youth in Tunisia and Egypt to overthrow their dictatorial leaders were not worst compared to what Ethiopians are facing day in and day out. The unemployment rate is beyond description; the inflation rate could not be controlled; the religious and inter and intra-ethnic conflicts due to the regime’s policy of divide and rule is endangering the very existence of the country; the corruption and nepotism are unprecedented; the economic condition of the country is driven by charity and western aid donors, despite Ethiopia’s abundant natural resources; the people get beaten and thrown to jail for voicing their concern; the massacre of innocent citizens of Gambela, Oromo, Ogadeni, Amhara, and etc by the Agazi kill squad continues as we speak.
It is because of all these injustices that the Ethiopian people are saying enough is enough – BEKA! GAYE! YIAKEL! BASS! and have been preparing for a grand demonstrations in Ethiopia. The regime knows full well that there is no stopping in the concerted voices of the people who have suffered for the last twenty years under its brutal yoke.
The first shock and awe of the Woyanne regime was in the election of 2005. The interahamwe rhetoric and the regime’s rent-a-crowd moment, before the eve of the election, gave it a false hope of winning Addis. Well, everybody knows what the results were in Addis – the false crowds did not vote for the regime, and the whole parliamentarian seats went to the opposition. To frustrate the otherwise peaceful election, the regime unleashed its notorious rent-a-thug policy to create chaos and blame the opposition party.
I would like to congratulate all the organizers of the peaceful protesters all over the US and Canada for a job well done. There is no doubt in my mind that Woyanne came to our turf to test us and we will show them again in our beloved Ethiopia.
On Wednesday, Woyanne delegation headed by Arkebe Ekubay held another meeting, this time in Las Vegas where mostly Tigreans were allowed to attend the meeting. The meeting organizers, with the help of the police, removed Ethiopians from other ethnic groups. It short, it was an ethnic apartheid meeting.
Many of the 300 people who in attendance appear to be family members of the Woyanne top leadership, a large number of whom have settled in Las Vegas, Denver, and San Diego, buying expensive homes with the money they looted from Ethiopia. If these Woyannes think that their ruling party is doing a good job of running the country, what are they doing in the U.S.?
(We will try to post videos and photos of the Las Vegas meeting shortly. Until then, watch the following video of Ethiopians confronting Woyanne thugs in Toronto.)
The net result of Woyane’s attempt to meet with the Ethiopian Diaspora in Dallas can be summed up as having two fold results. Firstly, the meeting confirmed and highlighted one more time that Woyane is nothing but a minority ethnic-based regime masquerading as Ethiopian. Secondly, the Woyane attempt to divide the Diaspora galvanized the opposition so much that the newly broad-based unified opposition to TPLF now includes political groups who until now were operating in their own political domain. Here is how these realities materialized in yesterday’ meeting.
Believing that Meles’s rule in Ethiopia is secured through vote rigging that culminated in a 99.6% parliamentary power; believing the free-loaders propaganda that the Diaspora is susceptible to support TPLF in exchange for individual economic enticement; most of all believing that the weaknesses of the opposition were permanent and fatal; this week-end, the Meles regime fired its opening salvo against the Ethiopian Diaspora after almost a full year and multi-million dollar preparation. As part of this fiasco, Meles’s handpicked messengers were sent to Dallas, Texas to talk to the community about the phantom five year “transformation” plan of Ethiopia. This was supposed to be a meeting where Ethiopians in Dallas were to pack the Marriott Quorum Hotel near the Galleria; be mesmerized by the dazzling economic performance of the TPLF regime and in the end align their politics with the “transformation” plan and even fund it with their hard earned dollar by buying the $500 bonds on spot. Instead what transpired is basically the reverse.
Here is how the process leading to the April 9th meeting was played by a handful of free-loaders under the guidance and funding of the Woyane Embassy in DC and their local and regional Tigrean masters on one hand and the newly unified opposition activists on the other. The free-loaders started out handing out invitation letters from the Embassy and announced on the local radio that this will be a meeting open for all Ethiopians. They even boasted that all Ethiopians in the DFW area will be welcome to challenge Meles’s stooges with Q&A sessions. Based on this announcement and the information and invitation letters they received from inside the free loaders camp, the opposition activists were ready to challenge them. (Remember getting such info from this camp is not hard. Free-loaders by definition work for the highest bidder: this character of the free-loaders is personified by non-other than their head in Dallas, the phony “captain” and empty-pocket “investor” Abey Mekonnon. Everybody knows Abey is a 24/7 hassler who struggles to feed himself and his family let alone invest).
If the meeting was open to all Ethiopians the activists planned to participate in the meeting, be civil and ask very hard questions on behalf of the Ethiopian people, who have been denied their God given right to gather, demonstrate or make peaceful protest. The peaceful activists were ready to challenge the so called “delegation “about the smokescreen Ethiopian “transformation” and “investment” plan, and have a civilized discussion about the burning issues of the Ethiopian people: litigate the 20 years of TPLF`s dictatorial rule and its failed policy towards democratization of the country.
Instead of allowing everyone who came to attend the meeting, the activists were met with a brute force from the local police and were pinpointed by the local servants of the regime and were not allowed to attend the meeting. These group of servants, who are serving the TPLF regime are Abiye Mekonnen (Main Organizer), Zeraye G. Berhe, Tadesse Tsehaye, Tekola Mekonnen, Tsehaye-Tsidik Bete-Mariam (Former Derg criminal), Mulaw(Mulugeta) Worash, Daniel Bayu (Mamush), Shimeles Gena,Abdulhamid, Halay Woldu, Melaku Abozene ,Abebe and many others who were not resident of the Dallas metro area. Most of the people who were deprived of attending the meeting were law abiding citizens, prodemocracy supporters and local respected elders. The presence of about sixty police officers outside and inside the hotel with drug snuffing dogs makes the event like there was already an explosion. Generally the area resembles like a war zone in the Middle East. It is very sad to see the amount of money spent for such bogus program for propaganda purposes. Most of all, it was unfortunate that the Addison Police was misinformed about the opposition and the peaceful activists in general and used unnecessary force and intimidation to arrest one of our activist Ato Betru Geberegziabher. Ato Betru was later released posting a Bail. The patriotic Ethiopians, who were excluded from their meeting, came all the way from Houston, Austin and Oklahoma State. Our warm-hearted appreciation goes to those true sons and daughters of Ethiopia.
The opposition activists knew very well that the criminal gangs can`t afford a free and open discussion with Ethiopians neither at home nor abroad. The so called “Growth and Transformation” organizers failed miserably, because the meeting was not to discuss with the Ethiopian Diaspora at large, but for selected TDA members and other innocent people, who attend the meeting simply to ask, challenge them and also to express their anger, frustration and grievances about the bureaucratic nature of the regime. Secondly this meeting helped the opposition to identify who our enemies are, and solidify different opposition groups to come together and fight our number one enemy TPLF/EPRDF under Meles. Please visit the Dallas Radio Program for an audio report about the fiasco in detail at www.maaecdallas.org broadcasted on April, 10, 2011.
In a parallel tack, the activists also moved to contact the Marriott hotel management and probe it for action by educating the management personnel through independent and documented accounts of the crimes committed by the regime on the Ethiopian people and by creating parallels with ousted rulers in North African and Middle East. We believe, the hotel management would have canceled the meeting had it not been for the legal advice it received on the consequences of contract breach.
Sure enough, the Saturday April 9th meeting was unlike any other meeting in the history of Ethiopian Diaspora in Dallas. Nobody in Dallas would fail to compare this meeting with that of Kinijit leaders when they came to Dallas. Kinjit leaders were welcomed at DFW Airport with masses of Ethiopians who dominated the airport with the Ethiopian flag and traditional welcome songs. The leaders were paraded on the roads of the city with Limousines as their arrival was broadcast in real time across the Internet. Last but not least, the crowed size and the festive atmosphere in the Kinijit meeting were there to show, that the gathering involved a real Ethiopian event. In contrast, the Woyane emissaries of April 9th entered and exited the city in secret, the organizers of the meeting were forced to open the meeting only to invited guests and the meeting had to be conducted in an environment of security siege. The overwhelming presence of the police, private security personnel, and the hotel staff from A-Z makes April 9 the meeting like a circus with a lot of alarm and disappointment for the organizers. Most of all, it is obvious even to the speakers and the meeting participants themselves that the audience in the auditorium was staffed with the majority of Tigreans from and around Texas.
The final message from Dallas to Woyanes and Meles is clear: you can’t buy our allegiance by showing off roads and buildings. Remember, we are sons and daughters of people who never give up the fight for freedom against Italian fascists who constructed longer and better quality roads in the first half of the past century in five years than you do in 20 years in this century. To some extent, the Italians used money from their own pocket as down payment unlike you who used the after-corruption borrowed and begged money in our name. Most of all, you and us know very well, in every US and European cities you go, Ethiopia has more people who are better educated and more experienced than the political cadres you send who can construct and transform Ethiopia. Freedom, democracy and end of minority Tigrean domination are our issues with you. Leave the Nile, the construction and the transformation for all Ethiopians.
The following excerpts are taken from Dr Aklog Birara’s upcoming new book.
The Egyptian revolt showed that there is no script for avoiding the reengineering tactics of a repressive regime. The opposition must be flexible and far superior in its tactics and strategy than the regime. Resolve, persistence, organization and a common national purpose are fundamental. Ability to imagine that the future will be better than the past was most helpful. Egyptian protesters proved their ability to change a repressive system through unity of purpose. How did they do it? Activists figured out a new way of changing repressive regimes. They used information technology and raised social networking to a new level. These tools empowered ordinary people and took away the power of the regime and its media. Activists focused on police brutality. They exposed atrocities that galvanized people. Individual activists such as Wael Ghonim, the Google executive, broke the conventional way of communication through traditional media that is always government controlled. Social media became prominent. Some call these depictions and mobilization techniques “the Internet revolution.” Such a revolution is, however, immaterial unless it injects fresh thinking and organization that permeates the entire society. In Egypt this is exactly what happened. Ordinary people owned the revolution and changed a regime.
In Ethiopia and other countries, we saw that regime changes were never peaceful and never led to democracy. In 2005, Ethiopia came close; but did not gain support from the outside world. Democratization was not sustained internally either. […] The West repeated policy blunders by not defending the people‟s demands for fundamental political freedoms, civil liberties, human rights and the rule of law; and by not supporting the notion that Ethiopians can choose the form of government that will address their social and economic problems. Given this pattern, democratic activists and opposition groups in Ethiopia face a monumental task ahead of them.
For Ethiopian democrats to earn the respect and empathy of the international community, they must prove that they are capable of stimulating a paradigm shift in political culture and in establishing democratic institutions. First, they need to practice what they preach and then produce capable and respected leaders who empower youth and civil society. Blaming foreign governments for internal weaknesses makes no sense. Opposition groups must accept responsibility for their own mistakes and failures. Singular focus on regime change without solid organization and leadership undermines credibility.
Egypt has alternative leaders in the wings ready to take responsibility. In the transition, they possess a nationalist and capable military establishment that will ensure security and stability. In contrast to Ethiopia, the country is not sitting on an ethnic time bomb or plots from terrorist groups. The country is endowed with a talent pool from which it can draw. It has an established tradition of embracing new civic and professional leaders. These potential leaders have organic links to the population. It is the people and not individuals who seem to be at the center of the shift in political thinking. It is this organic link that makes the Egyptian uprising formidable and potentially enduring.
I often find myself arguing with compatriots concerning the distinction between a single leader such as Meles Zenawi–the Ethiopian Prime Minster for close to 21 years–and the institutions his party built from scratch. These new institutions are not national. They are largely ethnic-based. By and large, they replaced national entities including the armed forces. Post Emperor HaileSelassie, regimes did not attach value to enduring national institutions. The Military Dictatorship institutionalized socialism and the current one ethnicity. In the event of a popular revolt in Ethiopia, opposition groups ought to learn from past mistakes and manage transitions more effectively and prudently. They need to do this far in advance. Reaction is never a substitute for planning. Change must have the popular support of all ethnic and religious groups who want freedom. Otherwise, it will fail.
There are two things that those who support the current Ethiopian regime fear most. First is ethnic revenge. Opposition groups must diffuse this fear.
Second, those who benefited from the current regime must know that their properties and assets will be guaranteed. They must know that corruption, nepotism and cronyism will be investigated and persecuted through the legal system or through neutral and independent commissions.
The world witnesses that transitions to a democratic order are always messy. Members and supporters of the old regime fear the future and resist it. Those who want change are not always sure what the future will be like. Most Ethiopians are apathetic. In the Diaspora, those who are detached from the political process constitute the “silent majority.” It is here where wise and flexible leadership that can attract this middle can play a vital role. In a country like Egypt, “An urgent priority is to rewrite the rules so that free and fair elections are possible.” The Egyptian Supreme Military Command vowed that this will be done. In the third week of March, 2011, Egyptians went to the polls; and 77 percent voted in favor of constitutional and other reforms. Among the major changes is term limit of four years for presidents, renewable only once. The task of institution building has begun in Egypt. The same prioritization applies to Ethiopia. What would be the ground rules? Who will provide oversight? Will the military play a constructive and bridging role or will it side with the regime?
Regime change in Ethiopia would require the rewriting of the current constitution. Here, the South African process model will be appropriate. Studies must begin now. A quick fix won‟t do. “In 1997, South Africa enacted an interim constitution to govern the country while it undertook an ambitious constitution-writing process with wide popular consultation–which is the ideal arrangement.”
Unlike Egypt and Tunisia, Ethiopia faces the hurdle of ethnic federalism in general and Article 39 in particular. The article permits secession. The speculation of civil uprising that may lead to Ethiopia‟s disintegration may be far fetched but should not be dismissed. Will any democratic transition retain this provision or will it put the matter to a national referendum for all Ethiopians to consider and decide. My view is that all of the Ethiopian people and not ethnic elites should voice their views and decide. It is in part this provision that makes foreign governments weary of regime change. The current regime believes that transition to democracy will lead to further fragmentation. For this reason, ethnic-based liberation movements harm the democratization process for the people they claim to represent. The best contribution they can make is to renounce secession and work for democratic unity firmed on unfettered equality. Secessionist tendencies strengthen the regime and weaken unified struggle. Even those who prefer democracy over tyranny feel obliged to defend the current regime. They contend that at least, it provides stability and keeps the country intact.
Political elites in Ethiopia are hardly the country‟s greatest assets. Their dysfunctional behaviors and actions are among the reasons why the country is still in a mess. Power must reside in the Ethiopian people, especially youth.
Democracy emanates from the people. We see this to be the case in the United States where civic associations led by ordinary people impact the political process each and every day. “Government of the people; by the people and for the people” is not an empty phrase. The American Revolution benefitted from social networking. At the time, publications proved effective. Unlike democratization of the past, today‟s revolutions will be instigated and led by youth. Traditional politicians must grasp this phenomenal change and work within it. This social group is the most idealistic and boldest in shaping the future. The young people who changed history in Egypt and Tunisia and are now fighting in almost every country in the Middle East and North Africa lived under one leader. They only knew one form of governance. The same is true in Ethiopia. Combine the duration of two successive repressive and oppressive regimes; you find that the country‟s youth knows either one or two dictators. Repressive conditions in Ethiopia disallow participation in the political process. This does not mean that youth is totally apathetic and detached from the plight of the society. In light of this, the Ethiopian Diaspora can‟t assume that it will serve as a substitute for internally generated and led popular uprising. In my assessment, its role should be to provide tools, intellectual guidance, direction, policy options, knowledge and funding. It can fill a void in communication by strengthening social media. It can educate the public to disavow violence against any group. It can diffuse ethnic animosity and tensions. It can stop opportunistic signals that say that secession is acceptable. It can raise awareness that uprising does not mean revenge or destruction of private or public property. It can vow to uphold decency, civility, commitment for the sanctity of life and protection of property. Modeling democratic behavior is one of the most powerful weapons in pursuing a democratic path.
“In Egypt and Tunisia, the young people who planned, organized and implemented the protests were educated, Internet-savvy activists with no political affiliation.” They rejected suffocating and corrupt systems. “They were enthusiastically joined by secular as much as by Islamist voices. After watching the fervor unleashed in the in January, 2011, young Syrians, Bahrainis, Algerians and even the quiescent Libyans are turning to Facebook and Twitter to call for their own “day of rage.” The “outrage” that beamed in Tunisia spread to Egypt. No one knows where the ripple effect will spread next and how soon. It is always critical that we connect outrage to social, economic and political causes and not to personalities. The Gallop Poll and other organizations show similar patterns in the region as well as the rest of the Middle East. These include denial of “political rights and civil liberties, high incidence of corruption, low levels of well being and high unemployment. “Social change in the Middle East, particularly the growing number of educated youth who struggle to find jobs and are determined to live in dignity, is not unique to Tunisia and Egypt. Across the region, leaders are finding out that economic liberalization in political systems that lack accountability cannot protect against popular upheaval.” I would add endemic corruption to the list. “Unlike Tunisia where power and corruption were tightly centralized in the ruling family, the tentacles of the of Egypt‟s regime stretch from the army to the internal security forces and the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Every element of the regime, including a military with significant business interests, has too much at stake to relinquish power easily.”
The spread of corruption and exclusion comes close to Ethiopia‟s. The Egyptian situation was like the TPLF/EPRDF‟s in terms of repression and brutality but different in terms of merger of ethnicity, party and state. Ethiopia is more like Libya and Yemen than Tunisia or Egypt. Ethiopia and Libya are among the least urbanized countries in Africa. Colonel Gaddafi ruled Libya with an iron fist for more than 42 years. Mr. Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia did the same thing for almost 21 years. It won‟t surprise me if he wishes to match Colonel Gaddafi in terms of reacting to a popular revolt. Remember, his party vowed to govern Ethiopia for 100 years. Both deny fundamental freedoms and are brutal in dealing with dissent. Both restrict press and civic freedoms. They control and rely on state owned media in propagating their ideologies and in conveying to the outside world that their peoples are doing well. Both preach revolutionary democracy through decentralization. In reality, it is they who dictate policies and investments. Power emanates and ends with them and not with ordinary citizens. Libya does better in dealing with its restive population because of immense oil wealth. Ethiopia does not have the same luxury and flexibility. In contrast, Libya does not face a serious prospect of ethnic-based disintegration in the event of regime change. Ethiopia does. Libya‟s military is national and Ethiopia‟s is not. Despite some of these differences, Libyans and Ethiopians suffer from similar oppressive systems.
In Egypt, military institutions permeate and dominate life. Business interests and military officers have cordial relationships. Some experts estimate that 60 percent of the Egyptian economy is dominated by or affiliated with military folks. Close to 60 years of domination by military leaders and institutions incentivized high officers to defend the system. Parallel to this and by design the Ethiopian regime strengthened the stakes of key officials and institutions including the military by vesting them with political and economic powers. Wealth and asset concentration in a small group provides strong incentives in maintaining the status quo. Not only does narrow group interest thrive on corruption; it has high tolerance for inequality and high unemployment. Khalaf quotes recent Gallop research findings on Tunisia and Egypt that show that the population does not feel that it is thriving. “The percentage of people who felt they were “thriving” has been on the decline even as gross domestic product has increased.” At the same time, the rich get richer. A recent estimate puts Mubarak‟s personal assets at $7.2 billion. Il-gotten wealth from the system is estimated at more than $70 billion. Three ministers were barred from traveling out of the country. The US government froze assets of Colonel Gaddafi and his family. The same is true in Ethiopia. Global Financial Integrity estimated that in 2010 illicit outflow of funds amounted to $11 billion and is rising. The bizarre story of 10 thousand tons of Ethiopian coffee–amounting to 25,000 truckloads, “disappearing” without a trace is telling. On February, 2011, Ethiopian Review posted a piece under the appropriate title “Who stole ten thousand tons of Ethiopian coffee?” It is a symptom of corruption and erosion of ethics in the society. Prime Minister Meles called business people and announced the incident. He said two things that I found remarkable. Someone must be “held accountable.” Fair enough. How does a regime hold anyone else accountable when it is the source of the problem? The second thing he said was “All of us are implicated in this incident. We know but pay a blind eye.” There is a wise Chinese saying that “fish rots from the head.” Corruption begins from the top and spreads like cancer. Thousands of truckloads can‟t just disappear from a warehouse without facilitators and partners. Those with connections to the regime have a better chance of making this kind of heist. He did not mention that the regime will go after the thieves. It may be a family affair. No matter the growth rate, a regime with a high tolerance for corruption can‟s claim that its development policy is pro-poor. Similar to Ethiopia, gains from growth and increase in the domestic product did not filter down to the poor and youth in Egypt or Tunisia. This condition demystifies the Ethiopian regime‟s argument that growth improved the lives of people. Forty-six percent of Ethiopians want to leave their country. This preference is due to lack of opportunities at home. Same thing happens in Egypt. In the case of Egypt, “Only 20 percent of Egyptians surveyed said their well being has improved since 2009.” Even in oil revenue rich Saudi Arabia, its “young population has not felt the benefits of oil wealth.” The facades of democracy apparent in these countries and in Ethiopia are simply a joke. In 2010, the governing party won 99.6 percent of the votes. Just think of it. This is the reason why the façade of democracy is a joke. “It is in Arab countries that have erected facades of democracy that citizens are most likely to rise up against their rulers.”
Whether the façade of democracy refers to Arab countries or Ethiopia, the fact remains that fundamental political freedoms, civil liberties and human rights have been squashed.
The world can no longer afford to ignore this condition. The human and economic costs are too high. We saw in Tunisia and Egypt that it is for compelling reasons that youth and poor people rose and sacrificed their lives. In both cases, they won. I do not believe that hatred drove youth to rebel and take matters into their own hands. It is passion and commitment for justice, freedom, the rule of law and a better future that did. Those of us on the outside should recognize that the struggle was about them and not about elites or foreign powers. It wasn’t about the military. Because it is internally generated and led, no one but those on the ground controlled events. This is why popular revolutions are unstoppable. They happened in France, the United States, Eastern Europe , Indonesia and other places.“This is certainly the view in Cairo, where protesters and analysts say the uprising is not about the United States, not about Israel and not about Egyptian foreign policy. There are 80 million Egyptians.” The struggle is “about them.”
The above diagnosis leads me to one major conclusion concerning Ethiopia. Future struggle of the Ethiopian people is about them and their country. It is not about the Diaspora or about political elites who seek power. It is not about the West or the East. Ethiopian elites of all persuasions must grasp the importance of this paradigm shift from elites to ordinary citizens. When millions of people rise in unison, no regime can stop them. Ethiopians can‟t rely solely on the small middle class to sustain change; or on the peasantry that has to work hard to survive. Elites can‟t self select and dictate democracy to ordinary citizens. If they do, they will continue to be perceived as being part of the problem. For this reason, I would argue that the Diaspora must play a catalytic role that is anchored in an organic link with the Ethiopian people, especially youth. The most important tools they could provide youth and others in Ethiopia are to break regime control of the media and financial aid. They could do this by promoting widespread and strategic use of the information revolution. They can provide the tools and strengthen social-network users such as Face book and information enablers such as Twitter to circumvent state media and to incapacitate it. The internet revolution, satellite television and social media proved that repressive regimes can no longer rely on traditional media to dictate the future. Tunisians and Egyptians taught us that the future belongs to those who share Wael Ghonim‟s thesis that “Freedom is a bless that deserves fighting for.”
