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Author: Alemayehu G. Mariam

November is to Remember!

Posted on , Updated on by Alemayehu G. Mariam

By Alemayehu G Mariam

soldiers Remember June and November, 2005 

“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it,” cautioned Albert Einstein. Because Germans who could have done something did not, on 9-10 November 1938, the Nazis killed nearly 100 innocent Jewish people and arrested and deported 30,000 others. They also burned thousands of Jewish synagogues and businesses.  That was Krystallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). It was the forerunner to the Jewish Holocaust.

On 6-8 June and 1-4 November 2005, following the Ethiopian elections that year, scores of unarmed men, women and children were killed by security personnel loyal to the ruling regime.  An official Inquiry Commission established by dictator Meles Zenawi documented that 193 unarmed Ethiopians demonstrating in the streets and others held in detention were intentionally shot and killed by police and paramilitary  forces and 763 wounded. The Commission completely {www:exonerate}d the victims and pinned the entire blame on the police and paramilitary forces and those who had command and control over them:

There was no property destroyed [by protesters]. There was not a single protester who was armed with a gun or a hand grenade (as reported by the government-controlled media that some of the protesters were armed with guns and bombs). The Commission members agreed that the shots fired by government forces were not to disperse the crowd of protesters but to kill by targeting the head and chest of the protesters.

To testify against Evil is the moral and civic duty of the living. Elie Wiesel, the {www:Holocaust} survivor and the man the Nobel Committee called the “messenger to mankind”, reminds us all that as the survivors of the victims of Evil we have to make a choice:

For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time. The witness has forced himself to testify. For the youth of today, for the children who will be born tomorrow. He does not want his past to become their future.

For the past five years, I have sought to testify against Evil by bearing witness for the victims of June and November 2005, and for Ethiopia’s youth of today and for the children who will be born tomorrow. In 2007, I appeared in the court of world opinion and testified for the first time on behalf of the innocent victims of crimes against humanity.  I testified for them in 2008. I testified for them in 2009, and again in 2010.  I shall continue to testify because that is my way of making the “world a less dangerous place” for the powerless, the voiceless, the hopeless, the voteless, the defenseless, the nameless, the faceless, the jobless, the foodless, the landless, the leaderless, the homeless and the parentless. It is also my way of making the world a more accountable place for the conscienceless, the ruthless, the merciless, the remorseless, the reckless, the senseless, the shameless, the soulless, the thoughtless and the thankless.

The high and mighty who reigned over the 2005 massacres now sit ensconced in their stately pleasure domes drunk with power, consumed by hate and frolicking in decadence. They look down swaggering with hubris, sneering at justice, scorning truth, and desecrating the memory of the innocent. But recent history teaches a harsh lesson: “Truth and justice will not forever hang on the scaffold nor wrong cling to the throne forever.” Justice shall “roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

IQ in CongressAs we remember the martyrs of June and November, let us also remember the debt of gratitude we owe our Ethiopian heroes who stood up for justice and truth in revealing and documenting the horrific stories of the 2005 massacres. These monstrous crimes against humanity would have been swept into the dustbin of oblivion and lost in the mist of time but for the courageous and meticulous investigations carried out by Inquiry Commission chairman and vice chairman and former judges Frehiwot Samuel and Woldemichael Meshesha, lawyer Mitiku Teshome and human rights investigator/defender Yared Hailemariam. These individuals chose to testify and paid a high personal price for telling  the gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and mindbending truth about the massacres.  They now live in exile facing extreme hardship, separated from their families and unable to pursue the professions they cherished so much.

judges 1 When the modern history of Ethiopia is written, their names will be listed at the very top for displaying courage under fire, hope in the face of despair, bravery in the face of personal danger, and unflinching fortitude in the face of extreme adversity. I can only offer them my profound thanks and express my deepest appreciation for what they have done. An entire nation, indeed an entire continent, owes them a heavy debt of gratitude: “Never have so many owed so much to so few!”

Remember the Martyrs of June and November 2005

victimsOn May 15, 2005, Meles Zenawi declared a State of Emergency in Ethiopia and brought all security and military forces in the country under his personal command and control: “As of tomorrow, for the next one month no demonstrations of any sort will be allowed within the city and its environs. As peace should be respected within the city and its environs, the government has decided to bring all the security forces, the police and the local militias, under one command accountable to the prime minister.”

On June 6-8 and November 1-4, 2005, the following individuals were gunned down by state security forces in street demonstrations or trapped in their cells at Kality Prison just outside the capital Addis Ababa. The victims enumerated below are included in the Testimony of  Yared Hailemariam, investigator for  the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) and human rights defender in exile (extremely graphic pictures included in report, reader discretion advised), before the Extraordinary Joint Committee Meeting of the European Parliament on Development and Foreign Affairs and Subcommittee on Human Rights, “Crimes Against Humanity in Ethiopia: The Addis Ababa Massacres of June and November, 2005”.

The number of victims reported in the Inquiry Commission report list only those casualties for the particular dates in June and November. There is undisclosed evidence by the Commission which shows a much higher casualty figure than those reported if other dates in 2005 were included. No one has yet to be held accountable for these crimes against humanity. In fact, there is a confirmed list of at least 237 policemen who actually pulled the trigger to cause the carnage, and all of them are still walking the streets free today.

Our heads bowed in honor and respect for these martyrs, our hearts filled with the hope of justice to flow like a mighty stream and our minds resolved in steely determination, let us read out the names of the victims and reflect on their sacrifices for the youth of Ethiopia today and the children who will be born tomorrow:

1. Shibre Delelegn, age 23, female, shot in the neck and killed.

2. Yesuf Abdela, age 23, male, student at Kotebe Teachers’ College, shot in the back with two bullets and  killed.

3. Hadra Shikurana, age 20, male, shot in the forehead and killed.

4. Nebiy Alemayehu, age 16, male, 10th grade student, shot in the chest on the way to school and killed.

5. Yonas Asseffa, age 24, male, shot through the right ear and killed.

6. Dawit Fekadu, age 18, male, shot in the chest and killed.

7. Melisachew Demissie, age 16, male, 6th grade student on the way to school to take his examination, shot in  the forehead and killed.

8. Wessen Assefa, age 28, male, a trader, shot in the chest and killed.

9. Zulufa Surur, age 50, male, a mother of seven shot in the back while standing in the doorway of her house  and killed.

10. Fekadu Negash, age 22, male, shot in the chest and killed as he stood near his residence.

11. Abraham Yilma, age 16, male, brother of Fekadu (victim no. 10), upon hearing that his brother was shot by  the police, Abraham ran to aid his brother. As he lifted up his dying brother to help, a policeman shot him.  Both brothers died on the scene.

12. Biniyam Dembel, age 19, male, shot and killed.

13. Negussie Wabedo and Mohammed Hassen, ages unknown, male, both individuals were shot in the forehead and killed.

14. Beliyu Dufa, age 20, male, shot in the chest and killed.

15. Redela Kombado, age 26, male, an assistant to a taxi driver, shot in the chest and killed.

16. Milion Kebede, age 30, male, a cashier with Anbessa city bus, shot and killed on the way to work.

17. Getnet Ayalew, age 24, male, first shot and wounded in his right thigh. As a friend was helping him to reach a safe place, the policeman realized that he was still alive and shot him in the abdomen for the second time.  The friend ran away terrified. When Getnet’s family members came, the policeman took aim and  threatened to shoot them if they tried to help him. He bled for about half an hour and died in the hospital.

18. Wassihun Kebede, age 22, male, shot in the head and killed.

19. Dereje Damena, age 24, male, shot in the forehead and killed.

20. Esubalew Ashenafi, age unknown, male, shot and killed near his home.

21. Addisu Belachew, age 23, male, a businessman and father of 3 children, shot in the eye and killed.

22. Legesse Tulu, age 64, male, a carpenter and father of 5, shot and killed as he looked for his son.

23.  Jafar Seid, age 28, male, shot in the forehead and killed.

24. Ashenafi Derese, age 22, male, shot and killed near his home.

25. Girma Alemu, age 38, male, shot the chest and killed.

26. Meki Negash, age unknown, male, shot and killed while going to mosque at Sebategna Agip.

27. Desta, age 28, female, (her father listed at #28) shot in the chest and killed.

28. Beliyu Bayu, age 20, male, shot in the left side of his body and killed.

29. Endalkachew Megersa, age 18, male, shot in the forehead and killed.

30. Demeke Kassa, age 24, male, shot in the forehead and killed.

31. Anwar Kiyar Surur, age 20, male, shot in the forehead and killed.

32. Kasim Ali, age 23, male, shot in the forehead and killed.

33. Berhanu Aynie, age estimated 20-25, male, shot and killed in front of Addis Ketema School.

34. Imamu Ali, age 21, male, shot and killed.

35. Ermias Fekadu, age 20, male, shot and killed.

36. Aliyu Yusuf, age 20, male, shot and killed.

37. Tesfaye Delgeba, age 19, male, shot and killed.

38.  Habtamu Amensisa, age 30, male, shot and killed.

39. Gezahegn Mengesha, age 15, male, shot and killed.

40. Asnakech Asseffa, age 35, female, shot and killed.

41. Rebuma Eshete, age 34, male, shot and killed

42. Samson Negash, age unknown, male, shot dead killed. (Police record number 13097.)

43. Fekadu Haile, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

45. Fekadu Hailu, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 13903.)

44. Mubarek, shot and killed. (Police record number 00426)

45. Beyene Nuru Bizu, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00437.)

46. Abebe Antenehi, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00441.)

47. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00447.)

48. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 57351.)

49. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00429.)

50. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00438.)

51. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00425.)

52. Unidentified, shot and killed. (Police record number 00432.)

53. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00428.)

54. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00450.)

55. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00431.)

56. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00430.)

57. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00436.)

58. Mitiku Wendima, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 00427.)

59. Tesfaye Adane Garo, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

60. Tadele Kambado Awel, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

61. Mubarek Mebratu, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

62. Meteek Zeleke, age 24, male, shot and killed.

63. Kibret Edelu, age 45, male, shot and killed.

64. Mekoya Mebratu, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

65. Alemayehu  Zewde, age 25, male, shot and killed.

66. Fekadu Amele Delgae, age 32, male, shot and killed.

67. Mesaye Adiss, age 30, male, shot and killed.

68. Beailu Tesfay, age 22, male, student, shot and killed.

69. Siraj Nure, age 18, male, student, shot and killed

70. Abebech Bekele, age 57, female, shot and killed.

71. Etenesh Yimam, age 52, female, shot and killed while protesting the arrest of her husband, a CUD member.

72. Giksa Tolla Setegne, age 18, female, 6th grade student; shot and killed.

73. Kebneshe Melke, age 50, female, a mother of 5 children; shot and killed.

74. Abyaneh Sissay, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

75. Tsegahun W/Michal, age unknown, male, college student, shot and killed.

76. Yassin Nuredin, age 10, male, shot and killed while playing football.

77. Kebede Bedada, age 20, male, college student; shot and killed.

78. Tadele Shere, age 28, male, daily laborer; shot and killed.

79. Jaqema Bedane, age 20, male, student, shot and killed.

80. Hassen Dulla, age 70, male, shot and killed.

81. Hussen Hassen, age 30, male, shot and killed.

82. Elfnesh Tekele, age 35, female, shot and killed.

83. Belaye Dejene, age 15, male, shot and killed.

84. Teshome Addis, age 71, male, shot and killed.

85. Bademaw Mogese, age 20, male, shot and killed.

86. Dessalgne Kende, age 20, male, shot and killed.

87. Yesuf  Mohammed, age 20, male, shot and killed.

88. Mulu Muche, age unknown, female, shot and killed.

89. Zemedhun Agedw, age 18, male, shot and killed.

90. Tewodros Zewde, age 17, male, shot and killed.

91. Sintayehu Estifanos, age 14, male, student, shot and killed.

92. Tewodros Kebede, age 25, male, shot and killed.

93. Ambaw Legesse, age 60, male, shot and killed.

94. Zelalem Ketsela, age 31, male, shot and killed.

95. Degene Yilma Gebre, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

96. Melaku Mekonnen Kebede, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

97. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed.  (Police record number 359180.)

98. Mebratu Wubshet Zewide, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

99. Mitiku Zeleqe, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

100. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 359180.)

101. Yohannes Hailu, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

102. Walye Hussen Melese, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 21520.)

103. Haile Girma, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

104. Sintayehu Wubet Melese, shot and killed.

105. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

106. Fikremariam Kumbi, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

107. Kassa Beyene Rora, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

108. Ayalewu Mamo, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

109. Mulualem, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

110. Getu Shewangizawu, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

111. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 21526.)

112. Henok Qetsela, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

113. Alemayehu Afa Zewude, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

114. Unidentified, age unknown, male,shot and killed. (Police record number 21760.)

115. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 21761.)

116. Tieizazu Welde Mekuriya, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

117. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 21763.)

118. Tewodros Gebrewold, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

119. Fikadu Made, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

120. Shewarega Bekele, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

121. Mesfin Gebrewold, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

122. Bisrat Tessfaye, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

123. Shemsu Kelid, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

124. Eyob Gebremdihin, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

125. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 13087.)

126. Unidentified, age unknown, male, shot and killed. (Police record number 13088.)

127. Abaynehi Sara, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

128 Admassu Tegegne Ababe, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

129. Habtamu Zegeye, age unknown, male, shot and killed.

Mass Killing of Prisoners at Kaliti Prison on November 2, 2005

(Prisoners massacred while trapped in their cells.)

1. Tteyib Shemsu Mohammed, age unknown, male, charged with instigating armed insurrection.

2. Sali Kebede, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

3. Sefiw Endrias Tafesse Woreda, age unknown, male, charged with rape.

4. Zegeye Tenkolu Belay, age unknown, male, charged with robbery.

5. Biyadgligne Tamene, age unknown, male, charges unknown.

6. Gebre Mesfin Dagne, age unknown, male, charges unknown.

7. Bekele Abraham Taye, age unknown, male, charged with hooliganism.

8. Abesha Guta Mola, age unknown, male, charges unknown.

9. Kurfa Melka Telila, convicted of making threats.

10. Begashaw Terefe Gudeta, age unknown, male, charged with brawling [breach of peace].

11. Abdulwehab Ahmedin, age unknown, male, charged with robbery.

12. Tesfaye Abiy Mulugeta, age unknown, male, charged with instigating armed insurrection.

13. Adane Bireda, age unknown, male, charged with murder.

14. Yirdaw Kersema, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

15. Balcha Alemu Regassa, age unknown, male, charged with robbery.

16. Abush Belew Wodajo, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

17. Waleligne Tamire Belay, age unknown, male, charged with rape.

18. Cherinet Haile Tolla, age unknown, male, convicted of robbery.

19. Temam Shemsu Gole, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

20. Gebeyehu Bekele Alene, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

21. Daniel Taye Leku, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

22. Mohammed Tuji Kene, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

23. Abdu Nejib Nur, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

24. Yemataw Serbelo, charged with rape.

25. Fikru Natna’el Sewneh, age unknown, male, charged with making threats.

26. Munir Kelil Adem, age unknown, male, charged with hooliganism.

27. Haimanot Bedlu Teshome, age unknown, male, convicted of infringement.

28. Tesfaye Kibrom Tekne, age unknown, male, charged with robbery.

29. Workneh Teferra Hunde, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

30. Sisay Mitiku Hunegne, charged with fraud.

31. Muluneh Aynalem Mamo, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

32. Taddese Rufe Yeneneh, charged with making threats.

33. Anteneh Beyecha Qebeta, age unknown, male, charged with instigating armed insurrection.

34. Zerihun Meresa, age unknown, male, convicted of damage to property.

35. Wogayehu Zerihun Argaw, charged with robbery.

36. Bekelkay Tamiru,  age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

37. Yeraswork Anteneh, age unknown, male, charged with fraud.

38. Bazezew Berhanu, age unknown, male, charged with engaging in homosexual act.

39. Solomon Iyob Guta, age unknown, male, charged with rape.

40. Asayu Mitiku Arage, age unknown, male, charged with making threats.

41. Game Hailu Zeye, age unknown, male, charged with brawling [public disorder]

42. Maru Enawgaw Dinbere, age unknown, male, charged with rape.

43. Ejigu Minale, age unknown, male, charged with attempted murder.

44. Hailu Bosne Habib, age unknown, male, convicted of providing sanctuary.

45. Tilahun Meseret, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

46. Negusse Belayneh, age unknown, male, charged with robbery.

47. Ashenafi Abebaw, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

48. Feleke Dinke, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

49. Jenbere Dinkineh Bilew, age unknown, male, charged with brawling [public disorder].

50. Tolesa Worku Debebe, age unknown, male, charged with robbery.

51. Mekasha Belayneh Tamiru, age unknown, male, charged with hooliganism.

52. Yifru Aderaw, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

53. Fantahun Dagne, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

54. Tibebe Wakene Tufa, age unknown, male, charged with instigating armed insurrection.

55. Solomon Gebre Amlak, age unknown, male, charged with hooliganism.

56. Banjaw Chuchu Kassahun, age unknown, male, charged with robbery.

57. Demeke Abeje, age unknown, male, charged with attempted murder.

58. Endale Ewnetu Mengiste, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

59. Alemayehu Garba, age unknown, male, detained in connection with Addis Ababa University student  demonstration in 2004.

60. Morkota Edosa, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

“I remember the killers, I remember the victims, even as I struggle to invent a thousand and one reasons to hope.  Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair. Hope is possible beyond despair.” Elie Wiesel 

Photo inset 1, L to R- Inquiry Commission Chair Frehiwot Samuel, Congressman Donald Payne, attorney Mitiku Teshome and Amnesty International’s Lynn Fredriksson at a Congressional hearing held on November 16, 2006.

Photo inset 2, L to R- Inquiry Commission Chair Frehiwot Samuel, Co-Chair Woldemichael Meshesha, and attorney Mitiku Teshome.

Photo inset 3- Collage of some of the victims of the massacres of June and November, 2005.

To Catch Africa’s Biggest Thieves Hiding in America!

Posted on , Updated on by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Alemayehu G. Mariam

A Plague of Thieves Visited on Africa

For the past four decades, a plague of cold-blooded thieves has descended upon Africa like a swarm of blood sucking ticks. These thieves masquerading as leaders have been trafficking in Africa’s natural resources and trading in the wealth created by the blood, tears and sweat of African peoples. Now U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, America’s top law enforcement officer, says to Africa’s biggest thieves: “You can run with Africa’s stolen treasures but you can’t hide them in America!”

In July 2010, in a breathtaking act of legal diplomacy,  U.S. Attorney General Holder travelled to meet Africa’s greatest kleptocrats in Uganda and delivered a staggering message: “The U.S. Department of Justice is launching a new Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative aimed at combating large-scale foreign official corruption and recovering public funds for their intended – and proper – use: for the people of our nations. We’re assembling a team of prosecutors who will focus exclusively on this work and build upon efforts already underway to deter corruption, hold offenders accountable, and protect public resources.” Holder’s move was so surreal and stunning that I described it as the equivalent of filing a sealed indictment against “La Commissione” – the Godfathers of the Bonnano, Columbo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime families in New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

The Rape of Equatorial Guinea by the Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Family  

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the 43-year old son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, is now facing asset seizures by the U.S. and other European governments. The U.S. has filed legal action to take away Mangue’s property valued at tens of millions of dollars because they were allegedly acquired with money stolen from the people of Equatorial Guinea. Mangue is the heir apparent and Minister of Forestry and Agriculture of that tiny west African nation with a population of  680,000, seventy percent of which lives below the poverty line. Mangue reportedly earns a monthly salary of USD$6,799.

U.S. law allows the government to seize cash, personal or real property of a person or entity if the government can trace the property to “specified unlawful activity”. Such activity includes foreign offenses involving “extortion”, “money laundering” or the “misappropriation, theft or embezzlement of public funds by or for the benefit of a public official” of a foreign government. (18 U.S. C. sections 981 (a) (1) (c); 1956; 1957.) Mangue is not facing any criminal charges at this time and the proceedings are against the items of property alone in the form of “United States v. One White Crystal-Covered Bad Tour Glove…” Mangue becomes a third party claimant if he decides to defend.

In a 46-page civil forfeiture action filed in mid-October by U.S. Justice Department in California and a separate but similar action filed in the District of Columbia in late October,  the U.S. Justice Department details its claims against Mangue. Among the items of property the Justice Department wants to seize include Michael Jackson’s white crystal-covered gloves valued at $275,000 and a pair of crystal-covered socks valued at $80,000, a $30 million Gulfstream jet, and a variety of super-cars including two Bugatti Veyrons worth $2million, eight Ferarraris, seven Rolls Royces, Five Bentleys, four Mercedes one Aston Martin and one Masarati. The government also seeks to seize a 12-acre estate (pictured above) overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, CA valued at $38.5 million.    

Teodoro Obiang and Africa’s Forty Thieves

Ali Baba and his forty thieves have nothing on the Teodoro Obiangs and Africa’s Forty Thieves. Neither do the European colonizers who had plundered and picked Africa’s bones clean. At least they left behind a few bones behind for the benefit of the archaeologists. Africa’s thieving dictators over the past four decades have stripped Africa so completely that they are now gang-mugging Africa’s ghost. As Africans die from famine, starvation, poverty, disease, civil war and conflict and suffer from illiteracy and economic woes, Teodoro Obiang and Africa’s Forty Thieves are spreading their empires of corruption to the four corners of the earth.  

Let the facts speak for themselves:

Sudan. Dictator Omar al-Bashir, according to a WikiLeaks cablegram, has  amassed fortune that boggles the mind: “International Criminal Court [ICC] Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told [U.S.] Ambassadors Rice and Wolff on March 20 [2009] that [Ocampo] would put the figure of Sudanese President Bashir’s stash of money at possibly $9 billion.”

Zimbabwe. In 2010, dictator Robert Mugabe announced his plan to sell “about $1.7 billion of diamonds in storage” (probably rejects of his diamond-crazed wife Grace). According to a Wikileaks cablegram, “a small group of high-ranking Zimbabwean officials (including Grace Mugabe) have been extracting tremendous diamond profits.” Mugabe is so greedy that he stole outright “£4.5 million from [aid] funds meant to help millions of seriously ill people.”

Kenya. The 2004 Kroll Report revealed that former president Daniel Arap Moi stole billions of dollars using a “web of shell companies, secret trusts and frontmen” and secreted the loot in 30 countries. Moi’s “relatives and associates of Mr. Moi siphoned off more than £1bn of government money.” Moi’s sons “Philip and Gideon – were reported to be worth £384m and £550m respectively.” Current president Mwai Kibaki stonewalled further action on the report, including prosecution of Moi.

Niger. In 2010, Niger’s state auditor reported that “at least 64 billion CFA francs [USD$128-million] were stolen from Niger’s state coffers under the government of former president Mamadou Tandja.”

Nigeria. Ex-President Sani Abacha, who stole some $2bn in the five years he ruled the country was determined to be a member of a criminal organization by a Swiss court.

Libya. Moamar Gadhafi is believed to have stashed $200bn dollars all over the world. Shortly after the Libyan uprising last  February, the British Government announced that it expected to seize “around £20 billion in liquid assets of the Libyan regime, mostly in London.” The Swiss Government similarly issued an order for the immediate freeze of assets belonging to Gaddafi and his entourage  in the amount of  613 million Swiss francs (USD$658 million), with an additional 205 million francs (USD$220 million) in paper or fiduciary operations. In 2008, Gadhafi’s Swiss holdings amounted to 5.7 billion in cash and 812 million francs in paper and fiduciary operations. In 2006, the Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund had investments of $70 billion. The U.S. has frozen $37 billion in Libyan assets.

Ethiopia. A few months ago, a  United Nations Development Program (UNDP) commissioned report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) on “illicit financial flows” (money stolen by government officials and their cronies and stashed away in foreign banks) from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) revealed the theft of US$8.4 billion from Ethiopia, the second poorest country on the planet.   The anti-corruption agency of the regime in Ethiopia reported in 2008 that “USD$16 million dollars” worth of gold bars simply walked out of the bank in broad daylight never to be seen again. Not long ago, dictator Meles Zenawi publicly stated that 10,000 tons of coffee earmarked for exports had simply vanished from the warehouses. He called a meeting of commodities traders and in a  videotaped statement told the traders he will forgive them this time because “we all have our hands in the disappearance of the coffee”. He threatened to “cut off their hands” if they should steal coffee in the future.

According to a recent Wikileaks cablegram, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the current ruling party in Ethiopia, “Upon taking power in 1991… liquidated non-military assets to found a series of companies whose profits would be used as venture capital to rehabilitate the war-torn Tigray region’s economy…[with] roughly US $100 million… Throughout the 1990s…,  no new EFFORT  [Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray owned and operated by TPLF] ventures have been established despite significant profits, lending credibility to the popular perception that the ruling party and its members are drawing on endowment resources to fund their own interests or for personal gain.” According to the World Bank, roughly half of the Ethiopian national economy is accounted for by companies held by an EPRDF-affiliated business group called the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT). EFFORT’s freight transport, construction, pharmaceutical, and cement firms receive lucrative foreign aid contracts and highly favorable terms on loans from government banks.

Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt also have safely stashed their loot in various international banks although the Swiss government has frozen a few hundred million dollars secretly kept there.  Others who have robbed their people blind (and pretty much have gotten away with it) include Nigeria’s Ibrahim Babangida, Guniea’s Lansana Conte, Togo’s Gnassingbe Eyadema, Gabon’s Omar Bongo, Burkina Faso’s Blaise Campore and Congo’s (Brazaville) Denis Sassou Nguesso. The story of official corruption, embezzlement, fraud, bribery, money-laundering, extortion and theft occurs with such monotonous regularity that a  2004 African Union report  estimated that nearly $148 billion is lost to corruption annually in Africa.

Going After Africorruption, Inc.

In my commentary “Africorruption, Inc.”, I argued that the business of African “governments” is  large part corruption. The majority of African “leaders” seize political power to operate sophisticated criminal enterprises to loot their national treasuries and resources. Stated simply, many African “governments” and “regimes” are kleptocracies which function in much the same way as the highly organized and centralized criminal enterprises that dominate the business of crime in the West. Attorney General Holder is now using against the biggest African thieves the same tools that have been used in one form or another for decades against drug lords, Mafiosi, organized crime figures and a variety of criminal syndicates engaged in racketeering. The legal strategy against American and African syndicates is now the same: hit the economic base of their criminal enterprises and confiscate the stolen loot.

The procedure in civil forfeiture cases is pretty straightforward and highly favors the government. In Mangue’s case, once the government establishes probable cause (reasonable belief) that the property (house, cars, etc.,)  is subject to forfeiture or confiscation (by showing it was obtained by corruption, extortion, theft, etc.,), Mangue must prove by a “preponderance of the evidence” (more likely to be true than not true) that the properties can be traced to a legitimate source such as his monthly salary of USD$6,799. If he cannot prove that, the U.S. Government is entitled to keep the assets, auction them off and return the proceeds to the country. Perhaps not in this case, as that would involve giving the money stolen by the son to the father who runs the theft ring.

From the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to an “African Racketeer Influenced Corruption Act” (AfRICA)?

For decades, the U.S. Government has been fighting organized crime using the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) (18 U.S.C. § 1961–1968) in one form or another. Now the U.S. is pursuing what may be informally described as “African Racketeer Influenced Corruption Act (Af-RICA)”.  I have previously argued that contemporary Africa has largely been reduced to a collection of thugocracies. I defined a “thugocracy” as a government of thieves, for thieves, by thieves. Simply stated, much of Africa today is under thugtatorships run by a gang of thieves and robbers (thugtators) in designer suits who have privatized the continent’s resources for their personal benefit. In a thugtatorship, the purpose of seizing and clinging to political power is solely to accumulate personal wealth for the ruling class by stealing public funds and depriving the broader population scarce resources necessary for basic survival. What legal tool could be more effective than RICO or Af-RICA to restore good governance in Africa?

Africa’s thugtators and their henchmen are now coming under the microscope of the U.S. Justice Department. They are viewed as part of an international organized criminal syndicate. Few would have realistically expected to see the U.S. going after even a single corrupt and thieving African dictator; but it sends a chilling message to all the other African  kleptocrats  and their henchmen who launder billions of dollars every year in the U.S. buying businesses and homes and making “investments” in legitimate commercial enterprises.

Though the U.S. action against Mangue is encouraging, no one believes that the other thieves are next in line. After all, the U.S. knew about Mangue’s criminal enterprises for at least a decade before it took action. Time will tell if the U.S. is serious in using civil RICO-type proceedings against Africa’s thugtators or merely window dressing for media publicity. What is significant is the symbolic but chilling message it sends to all of the other cunning African thieves, their associates, business partners, investors, and all others in the U.S. who “directly or indirectly” facilitate and sustain official corruption in Africa.  Regardless, it is heartwarming (and breathtaking) to know that the Obama Administration is at least considering seriously using civil forfeiture laws to deal with African dictators as organized criminals, syndicates and equivalents of Mafia bosses.

The Moral Duty of Every African

The United States could transform the bleak human rights landscape in Africa overnight by aggressively using  civil forfeiture actions against the properties and bank accounts of Africa’s thieving dictators. One civil forfeiture action against each of the bloodthirsty African thugs could do more to usher democracy and respect for human rights in Africa than a century’s worth of human rights legislation or a horde of idle American diplomats shuffling to suck up to these thugtators.

Criminal defense lawyers know all too well that crooks and criminals fear loss of their stolen loot more than their liberty or even their lives. For a criminal nothing matters more that the loot he has stolen. If the U.S. could effectively investigate and aggressively seize the assets of Africa’s kleptocrats, the continent will witness significant improvements in human rights and governance overnight. There will surely be a dramatic reduction in corruption and an increase in the availability of significant resources from recovered assets for investment in infrastructure and other social programs for the African population. Help improve human rights in Africa: Finger the biggest African thieves hiding in America.  

It is the civic and moral duty of every African to help the U.S. Justice Department catch Africa’s biggest thieves.  It is very easy to do,  and do it anonymously.  Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption in the United States, or funds laundered through institutions in the United States, should contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HIS) toll free at 866-347-2423 or send email to: [email protected]. If calling from outside of the U.S., the number is: 802-872-6199   

BLOW THE WHISTLE ON AFRICA’S BIGGEST THIEVES HIDING IN AMERICA!!!

Release all political prisoners in Ethiopia, NOW! 

Photo insert: Equatorial Guinea village, Teodoro N. Obiang Mangue’s $38m Malibu, CA estate, Teodoro N. Obiang Mangue with hangers-on.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at: www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ andhttp://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

 

African Dictators: The People Don’t Love You!

Posted on , Updated on by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Alemayehu G. Mariam

 

 

 

 

 

In February 2011, at the onset of the Libyan Revolution, Moamar Gadhaffi trumpeted to the world, “They love me. All my people with me, they love me. They will die to protect me, my people.” He called the rebels fighting to oust him from power “rats and cockroaches”. He believed it was his birthright to rule Libya as “king of kings” and remained in total denial of his own doom until the bitter end in a sewer tunnel. In the end, in an ironic twist of fate, Gadhaffi was served poetic justice. He was trapped like a sewer rat and smashed like a cockroach as he begged for mercy: “Don’t shoot me!”

The man who had played God in Libya for 42 years died a wimpy thug. The man with the absolute power to decide who shall live and who shall die was shot down like a rabid dog in the street by a nameless rebel. The man who had tortured and abused so many thousands of his people in secret prisons and dungeons was himself tortured and abused with unspeakable inhumanity broadcast for the world to see. The man who slaughtered thousands of his people ended up in the meat locker of a slaughterhouse where his victims gloated over his bloodied and half-naked body discarded on a filthy mattress like big game hunters inspecting their kill on an African safari. The man with the golden gun died from a lead bullet. The man-turned-monster who once called himself “brother leader,” “guide of the revolution,”  “king of kings,” “Great Leader,” and “keeper of Arab nationalism” was escorted to his unmarked grave in the featureless desert by a swarm of hungry maggot-bearing flies. Only one question remained: Is it possible for Gandhi’s warning about dictators to have  momentarily flashed before Gadhaffi’s eyes or echoed in his ears as he prepared to meet his Maker: “I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it–always.”

Gadhafi boasted he will die a hero and a martyr, but died a hated villain and a coward.  But the manner of his death left an ugly blotch on the glorious record of the Libyan Revolution. Gadhaffi’s young captors, unable to contain their pent up rage, treated him with such unspeakably inhumanity that their actions spoke very poorly for all of humanity. His execution in the street was an ugly public testament to man’s inhumanity to man. Even the most wicked and depraved dictator is entitled to basic human dignity. But in the euphoria of the moment, Libyans erupted with celebration at the news Gadhaffi’s dehumanization and death. With muted jubilation and a sigh of relief, acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril declared: “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time.” President Obama followed, “This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for Libya.”

Gadhaffi was the ultimate personification of the adage, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Over four decades, he became convinced that he was a god and untouchable by any man or law. He became an egomaniac, a megalomaniac, and a monomaniac. Gadhaffi and members of his family believed  that they had a divine right to own Libya and Libyans as their personal property.  His son Saif al-Islam threatened to dismember the country and plunge it into a civil war that “will last for 30 or 40 years” if anyone tries to oust his family. The young thug promised a bloodbath: “We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet. I will fight until the last drop of my blood. We have a Plan A which is to live and die in Libya. Plan B which is to live and die in Libya…” Gadhaffi refused to resign and leave the country peacefully. He would not listen to reason and defiantly declared he would never negotiate, mediate, compromise or surrender. He urged his supporters to fight to the last man and watched Libya burn in a civil war holed up in the sewer. As many as thirty thousand Libyans are estimated to have died as a result of Gadhaffi’s futile attempt to cling to power.

The African People Do Not Love Their Dictators

They say love is blind. That is especially true for dictators. Dictators are so blind that they believe the people love them. Long before Gadhaffi announced to the world “my people love me”, his brother-dictator Saddam Hussien of Iraq told the interrogators who snatched him out his spider hole, “The Iraqi people will always love me.” He even authored a romantic novel and spoke through his main character (king):  “I’m a great leader. You must obey me. Not only that, you must love me.”

Long before Saddam, the Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini pontificated, “With every beat of my heart, I give service to the Italian people. I feel that all Italians understand and love me.” Idi Amin of Uganda was less sentimental: “The people should love their leader!”; and if they don’t he had his own tough love methods to get the job done. Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire would often chuckle and tell foreign correspondents that not only do his people love him, they want him to stay in power because the “people need me.” Mengistu Hailemariam believed that he ruled with an iron fist out of patriotic duty and love of country. No doubt he loved Ethiopia to death, and proved it for seventeen years by killing thousands of its citizens wantonly. Last May, in a victory speech, Meles  Zenawi said he won the election by 99.6 percent because the Ethiopian people love his party and implicitly himself as the party leader. He said the people “consider themselves and the EPRDF [Zenawi’s party] as two sides of a coin” and “nothing can ever shake their unwavering support for our organization.” He returned the love by congratulating them for their “high sense of judgment and fairness” and for “giv[ing] us the mandate through your votes.”

African dictators are so tone-deaf that they just don’t get the message no matter how many times it is repeated to them. Perhaps they might understand if told in sign language: T-H-E   P-E-O-P-L-E   D-O-N-’T  L-O-V-E   Y-O-U! In fact, they loathe you. It is a raw and visceral feeling that is manifest in the eyes, thoughts and words of the people. African dictators love having absolute power and boundless privilege. They worship at the altar of money. They love themselves and no one else because they are narcissistic. Every day they look into the ghostly mirror in their minds seeking reassurance: “Mirror, mirror!! Who is the smartest, cleverest, boldest, cruelest, wickedest, trickiest, slickest, shrewdest, quickest, savviest, cunningest… of them all? The answer is always the same.

African dictators are all self-delusional and spend most of their time on Planet Denial. In the face of total repudiation by their people, they invent their own mythology of self-grandeur. They reassure themselves that even if the people don’t love them, “history will one day vindicate me”. To avoid facing the truth, they categorically  claim that they have “never killed even a fly and all the crimes I’m accused of are all lies perpetrated by my enemies.” They justify their cruelty by making the excuse that “my country is better off under me” than the previous regime. They brag about their accomplishments “successfully managing the transition from military dictatorship to an emerging democracy” and put themselves out as messiahs who “rekindle hope through a renaissance” and “chart a course of optimism” on a “trajectory of fast economic growth.” African dictators are as loveable as an African scorpion.

Perhaps it is a bit of an overstatement to say African dictators do not love their people. They do. They love to kill them; they love to jail them and torture them. They love to intimidate them, and most of all they love to crush them like cockroaches. How they love to rob, steal and cheat them! They thrive on the blood, sweat and tears of their people. African dictators love their people in much the same way as vampires love people. They love the sound of their own voices which resonate with lies, echo with deceit and jangle with hate: Those who oppose them are “rats and cockroaches” and “terrorists and insurrectionists”.

Did Gadhaffi Cheat the Libyan People in Death as He Did in Life?

It was jarring, confusing and troubling to hear acting Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril declare on the confirmation of Gadhaffi’s death that “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time.” I wish he had said, “The day we have been waiting for was the day Gadhaffi is brought to the bar of justice.” I wish the rebel fighter who shot Gadhafi in the face would have said the same thing that young fighter who captured the dictator Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire said a few months ago. “We attacked and forced in a part of the bunker. Gbagbo was there with his wife and his son. He was slapped by a soldier, but was not otherwise hurt.”

The moment to wait for would have been that precious moment when Moamar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi stood in the dock in a Libyan court or at the International Criminal Court in the Hague listening to the long list of criminal charges as his victims paraded in one by one wagging an accusatory finger at him. That would have been a historic moment worth waiting for no matter how long it took.

Gadhaffi is one of the top ten worst human rights abusers and criminals of the post-World War II era. I personally believe he is the apotheosis of evil. Regardless, I fully respect his human rights, including his right to a presumption of innocence and unabashedly defend his basic human right to proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law based exclusively on legally admissible evidence. This I believe to be the true meaning of human rights. Even monsters walking amongst us in human skin are entitled to due process (fair trial) and must be protected from lynching or street, mob or vigilante justice. The line that separates the rule of law from the rule of one man or the rule of the mob is a mighty slender one; and the rule of law must be defended at all costs against those who seek to breach it. It is easy to defend the human rights of Eman al-Obeidy, the courageous Libyan woman who was gang-raped by Gadhaffi’s thugs or Gadhaffi’s revenge killing victims. But it is infinitely more difficult to stand up for monsters like Gadhaffi; but the ironic truth is that the brand of human rights that fully protects Eman al-Obeidy also protects fully the monster once known as Moamar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi.

But I am afraid Gadhaffi in his death, as in his lifetime, got away with murder and torture and all sorts of crimes against humanity. He cheated al-Obeidy and the Libyan people out of justice. He cheated them out of the TRUTH. Now, al-Obeidy will never get the chance to confront Gadhaffi in a court of law, wag her delicate fingers at him as her tears roll down her cheeks and scream with all her might, “Gadhaffi! I accuse of rape and torture!” Her tears which testified before the court of world opinion and seared the conscience of all humanity will never get the chance to testify against Gadhaffi in a court of law and have him held accountable.

The truth is now buried with Gadhafi’s corpse and lost forever in the featureless sand dunes of the Sahara. His humiliation will give no satisfaction to al-Obeidy or the thousands of other innocent victims in Libya or those he blew up on Pan Am flight 103. The ghoulish public display of his corpse as a trophy game animal and all the gloating that went with it might give momentary satisfaction to some but it will never quench Libyans’ thirst for justice that could have come only from bringing Gadhaffi to trial. By taking the truth to his grave, Gadhaffi had the last laugh. He took his last revenge on the Libyan people for he knew that there could be no reconciliation in Libya without the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth laid bare before the people. It is too bad that Gadhaffi was given the easy way out!

The End of African Dictators

Winston Churchill said, “Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.” President John Kennedy cautioned us to “remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.” He warned the “new states” liberated from colonialism that “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

The people of Africa are beating the drums of change and democracy and encircling the mud walls of African dictatorships. The die is now cast and African dictators will have to make a choice. The smart ones will read the writing on the wall and beat feet to enjoy their stolen loot in comfort and luxury in the sanctuary of well-known “dictatordoms”. Ben Ali and Mengustu are doing just that now as did Idi Amin before them. The stubborn ones will stick around and face the scales of justice. Mubarak is doing that now as did Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the self-proclaimed Emperor of the Central African Republic, before him. The self-delusional ones like Gadhaffi and Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire and Samuel Doe of Liberia before them will cause a civil war to cling to power only to find themselves at the mercy of their ferocious and vengeance-thirsty adversaries. The rest will try to hide and hope their crimes will not catch up with them. Like Robert Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir, they will always be looking over their shoulders for the long arm of international law or the sharp tiger claws of the people that will one day surely hook them. African dictators who make peaceful change impossible will make vigilante justice possible as they peek straight through the barrel of a gun whimpering, “Don’t shoot me! Please don’t shoot me!” African dictators, there is a better way. Show your people some love. LEAVE THEM! 

African Dictators!   T-H-E   P-E-O-P-L-E   D-O-N-’T   L-O-V-E   Y-O-U! 

Release all political prisoners in Ethiopia, NOW!  

Previous commentaries by the author are available at: www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ and http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

 

Ethiopia: Kangaroo Justice for Two Swedish Journalists

Posted on , Updated on by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Alemayehu G. Mariam

Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye in Kangaroo Court 

The old adage is that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Could it be said equally that arrogance excuses ignorance of the law? Dictator-in-chief Meles Zenawi recently proclaimed the guilt of freelance Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye on charges of “terrorism” while visiting Norway. He emphatically declared that the duo had crossed into Ethiopia from Somalia with insurgents of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) as terrorist accomplices and collaborators: “They are, at the very least, messenger boys of a terrorist organization. They are not journalists. Why would a journalist be involved with a terrorist organization and enter a country with that terrorist organization, escorted by armed terrorists, and participate in a fighting in which this terrorist organization was involved? If that is journalism, I don’t know what terrorism is.”

At a “court” hearing last week, Persson denied the charges: “My intention was to do my job as a journalist and describe the conflict. Nothing else. Not guilty.” Schibbye admitted “entering the country without proper documentation. For that I am guilty and I apologize to the government of Ethiopia. But I am not guilty of terrorist activity.” Shimeles Kemal, the “chief prosecutor” was full of hyperbole when he laid out his “legal” case in a press conference. He claimed the two journalists “entered the country with a gang of terrorists. They have even been trained in using weapons. They are accused of abetting and rendering professional assistance to terrorists. Their activities go a bit beyond just journalistic news gathering.”

Criminalizing, demonizing and dehumanizing journalists, opposition leaders and dissidents as “terrorists”, “insurrectionists”, “treasonous” traitors, etc. isZenawi’s signature M.O. (method of operation). When Zenawi jailed editors of several newspapers following the 2005 elections, he described them in much the same way: “For us, these are not just journalists. They will not be charged for violating the press laws. They will charged, like the CUD leaders, for treason.” This past June, Zenawi ordered the arrest and detention of two young and dynamic journalists, Woubshet Taye, deputy editor of the weekly Awramba Times and Reeyot Alemu, columnist for the weekly Feteh, on fuzzy accusations of terrorism. Last month, Zenawi’s “chief prosecutor” ordered the arrest and detention of the distinguished Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega “for conspiring with terrorist organizations such as Ginbot 7 and other foreign forces who wanted to wreak havoc in the country through their terrorist activities.” When Zenawi wants to jail journalists, he simply brands them as “terrorists” or smears them with a similar label and carts them off to jail.

The Committee to Protect Journalists roundly condemned Zenawi’s statement as “compromising” the Swedish journalists’ human right to a “presumption of innocence and for predetermining the outcome of their case”. But much more is compromised, including the rule of law, principles of due process and fair trial, the universal principle that it is the accuser, and not the accused, who bears the burden of proof in a criminal case, the principle that guilt is proven in a court of law with an independent judiciary and not before a full court press or the court of international opinion. Ultimately, Zenawi’s statement compromised justice itself.

When Zenawi tagged these two journalists as “terrorist messenger boys” and “participants in the actions of a terrorist organization”, he had in fact sealed their fate and pronounced the final word in kangaroo justice. There is no way that Persson and Schibbye could possibly get a fair trial or not be convicted following such an outrageous and egregiously depraved statement by Zenawi.

Difference Between Journalists and Terrorists 

Zenawi sarcastically mocked the two Swedish journalists by rhetorically asking if what they did is “journalism, I don’t know what terrorism is.” Zenawi is entitled to some basic clarification by means of concrete examples. War crimes (“the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military or civilian necessity [Geneva Convention]” are acts of state terrorism. So are crimes against humanity (“widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, murder, forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, torture, [Rome Statute]”.  The “systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective” by an “extremely powerful political police against an atomized and defenseless population” is plain old-fashioned terrorism that is familiar to the average Ethiopian citizen.

When journalists are embedded with a regular or an irregular military unit and go into a conflict or war zone, they are engaged in “combat journalism”. When journalists dig for facts in places where there is an official news blackout, they are engaged in investigative journalism. When journalists undertake dangerous assignments and cover stories firsthand from a war zone, they are often called war correspondents. When independent reporters, writers and photojournalists accept specific assignments to cover particular stories, they are engaged in freelance journalism. It is because of freelance journalists that the world has come to know so much about the war crimes and human rights abuses that took place in such places like Kosovo, Angola, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia and many other places.

Oftentimes insurgent and rebel groups distrust professional journalists affiliated with established news organizations. They are more likely to cooperate with freelance journalists who often take great risks to their own safety to undertake firsthand investigations by entering a country at war or in conflict without a visa. Schibbye has been a foreign correspondent and freelance journalist for several newspapers, including The Times, Amelia and Proletären. He has worked in Algeria, the Philippines, Cuba, Syria and Vietnam, among other countries. Persson has worked with Kontinent, a Swedish photojournalist agency, for several  years and taken many dangerous assignments in various countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Both are professional journalists, and until now have never been suspected of any terrorist activity or involvement of any kind by any other country or international agency.

The Human Right to a Fair Trial 

Zenawi seems to be uninformed, willfully ignorant or recklessly indifferent to the human rights of the two journalists. The fact of the matter is that Persson and Schibbye are presumed to be innocent of any and all charges of “terrorism” until they have been given a fair chance to defend themselves and their guilt proven beyond a reasonable doubt by their accusers in court.  So says the Ethiopian Constitution under Art. 20 (3): “During proceedings accused persons have the right to be presumed innocent.” So says the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) under Art. 11: “Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defence.” So says the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) under Art. 14 (2): “Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.” So says the  African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) under Art. 7 (b): “The right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty by a competent court or tribunal.” Art. 13 (2) of the Ethiopian Constitution provides double guarantees: “The fundamental rights and freedoms enumerated in this Chapter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights covenants and conventions ratified by Ethiopia.” (Also art. 9 (4).) Ethiopia ratified the UDHR in 1948, the ICCPR in 1993 and the ACHPR in 1998.

Article 13(1)  mandates Zenawi to respect and enforce the provisions of the Constitution, including Article 20 (3). He violated his constitutional duty under Art. 9 (2) by publicly declaring the guilt of  Persson and Schibbye and characterizing them as “messenger boys of terrorists”, “participants in terrorism” and terrorist accomplices before they have had a chance to present a defense and a determination of their guilt made by a fair and neutral tribunal.

The presumption of innocence is the “golden thread” in the laws of all civilized nations. It is the gold standard of fundamental fairness which places the entire burden of proof in a criminal case on the state. It is the singular duty of the prosecution representing the state to present compelling and legally admissible evidence in court to convince the trier of fact that the accused is guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Persson and Schibbye guilt is not to be proven in a press conference in Oslo or in the court of public opinion.

The presumption of innocence requires that there be no pronouncement of guilt of the defendant by responsible officials likely to have a role or influence the judicial process prior to a finding of guilt by a court. Even when prosecutors make statements concerning the defendant to inform the public on the status of their investigation or articulate their suspicion of guilt, they have a legal and ethical duty to do so in a factual manner and narrowly limited to the allegedly violated laws, while always exercising reasonable care not to unduly prejudice the defendant’s right to a presumption of innocence or improperly influence the fact finder. 

Trial by Diktat 

Expecting a fair trial in kangaroo court is like expecting democracy in a dictatorship. Persson and Schibbye will be convicted by Zenawi’s diktat just as the journalists and opposition leaders were convicted before them. Following the 2005 election, Zenawi publicly declared: “The CUD (Kinijit) leaders are engaged in insurrection — that is an act of treason under Ethiopian law. They will be charged and they will appear in court.” They appeared in “court” and were convicted. In December 2008, Zenawi railroaded Birtukan Midekssa, the first female political party leader in Ethiopian history, to prison on the bogus charge that she had denied receiving a pardon. She was not even accorded the ceremonial kangaroo court proceedings. Zenawi sent her  straight from the street into solitary confinement by diktat and sadistically delcared: “There will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.”  He “pardoned” her in October 2010.  In 2009, Zenawi’s right hand man labeled 40 defendants awaiting trial “desperadoes” who planned to “assassinate high ranking government officials and destroying telecommunication services and electricity utilities and create conducive conditions for large scale chaos and havoc.” They were all “convicted” and given long sentences. For Zenawi, court trials are nothing more than circus sideshows staged for the benefit of  Western donors who know better but go along to get along.

No Fair Trial Possible for the Swedish Journalists in Kangaroo Court 

Everyone knows the charge of “terrorism” against Persson and Schibbye is bogus. It is a trumped up charge made by prosecutors who are directed, pressured, threatened and politically manipulated. Everyone knows there are no independent judges who preside in cases involving defendants facing “terrorism” and other political charges. Everyone knows the so-called judges in terrorism “trials” are party hacks and lackeys enrobed in judicial regalia. This is not the conclusion of a partisan advocate but the considered view of the U.S. Government and various international human rights organizations. Human Rights Watch concluded in its 2007 report: “In high-profile cases, courts show little independence or concern for defendants’ procedural rights… The judiciary often acts only after unreasonably long delays, sometimes because  of the courts’ workloads, more often because of excessive judicial deference to bad faith prosecution requests for time to search for evidence of a crime.” The  2010 U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices concluded: “The law provides for an independent judiciary. Although the civil courts operated with a large degree of independence, the criminal courts remained weak, overburdened, and subject to significant political intervention and influence.”

Everyone also knows that there is no such thing as the rule of law in Ethiopia because dictatorship is very antitheses of the rule of law. Zenawi’s diktat is “The Law”, which trumps the constitution and all  international human rights conventions. Ethiopia’s former president and parliamentarian Dr. Negasso Gidada described the so-called antiterrorism law as a tool of legalized terrorism which “violates citizens’ rights to privacy” and the “ rights of all peoples of Ethiopia…Such laws are manipulated to weaken political roles of opposition groups there by arresting and prosecuting them using the bill as a cover. Another major opposition leader, Bulcha Demeksa, described the same “law” as a “a weapon designed by the ruling party not only to weaken and totally eliminate all political opponents.” In other words, the “anti-terrorism law” under which the two Swedish journalists are charged is a weapon of mass incarceration and intimidation of political opponents and journalists, mass persecution of the political opposition and mass oppression of the civilian population.

The Silence of Sweden

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has been severely criticized for his apparent indifference and failure to help the two Swedish journalists or even publicly demand their release in light of the bogus terrorism charges. Critics argue that Bildt dragged his feet and failed to secure their release in the crucial first days of the detention of the two journalists because of a potential conflict of interest as the two journalists were also investigating the activities of a company affiliated to Lundin Petroleum, a Swedish oil group which has natural gas operations in the Ogaden. Bildt is said to have served as board member of Lundin Petroleum, prior to becoming foreign minister. In January 2009, Swedish International Development Cooperation Minister Gunilla Carlsson issued a statement declaring that the “imprisonment of Birtukan Midekssa is a source of great concern both for her personally and for democratic development in Ethiopia. The scope for democracy and pluralism is shrinking in Ethiopia. The imprisonment of Mrs Midekssa and the recently adopted law regulating the activities and funding of NGOs (non-governmental organisations) are examples of this negative development.”

Swedish journalist and writer Bengt Nilsson has argued that Sweden for decades has turned a blind eye as its development aid has been used to support dictatorships and finance wars in Africa. The Swedish government’s “new policy for Africa” claims to be based upon “economic growth, deeper democracy and stronger protection of human rights as  the basis for development in Africa.” How the Swedish government will “deal” its way out of the “crisis” of the two journalists will show if  Sweden will continue to support African dictatorships or use it aid dollars to help democratize Africa and protect the human rights of the African peoples.

What is the Kangaroo Trial of the Swedish Journalists Really About? 

Back in August 2010, Zenawi announced he will close his embassy in Sweden because “there is no development cooperation program of any substance between us and Sweden. There is no major trading relationship between us and Sweden, and no significant investment coming from Sweden to Ethiopia. It was not worthwhile to have an embassy [in Sweden]”. Diplomacy for Zenawi is striclty business. Without being too cynical, one could surmise that the terrorism charge against the two Swedish journalists is intended to provide a diversionary cover for Zenawi’s real agenda. Given Zenawi’s past M.O., it is manifest that he aims to use this opportunity to extract some major concessions from the Swedes:  “If they want Persson and Schibbye freed, it’s gonna cost ’em. What are the Swedes willing to pay? How about reopneing the aid pipeline? After all, Ethiopia is the first country to have received Swedish aid back in 1954. How about some cash loans? Increased trade? Perhaps new investments? It is said that the largest investor in the whole of Sweden is an Ethiopian.” Let’s make a deal!

There is no way Zenawi could jail Persson and Schibbye for fifteen years as terrorists. He will galvanize Swedish and European Union public opinion against him personally and very possibly trigger devastating sanctions that will completely paralyze his regime. Even the Americans who have been turning a blind eye for all these years may finally take a look and tell Zenawi enough is enough. So, there is no question that after the kangaroo court circus is over Persson and Schibbye will be released. As usual, Zenawi will grandstand and declare the two journalists have been pardoned and released after they admitted guilt, expressed remorse and so on. The Swedes and some of the Western countries will play their part and congratulate him for doing the right thing and acting magnaimously; and he will continue with business as usual—more Ethiopian journalists will be jailed and threatened, dissidents harassed and opposition leaders persecuted. But the lesson remains the same: By manufacturing a bogus crisis, Zenawi, true to form, would have once again outwitted, outfoxed, outsmarted, outmaneuvered, outpoliticked, outtricked, outfinessed and outplayed his timorous Western benefactors. As the old saying goes, one has to give the devil his due for a job well done!  Bravissimo!

Release all political prisoners in Ethiopia, NOW!

Previous commentaries by the author are available at: www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ andhttp://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/


 

Karuturistan, Ethiopia: The Fire Next Time?

Posted on by Alemayehu G. Mariam

The Flood This Time

“Karuturi’s First Corn Crop in Ethiopia Destroyed,” announced the headline. Karuturi Global Ltd., is the Indian multinational agro company that has been gobbling up large chunks of Ethiopia over the past few years. This time, Mother Nature gobbled up Karuturi.  The company  reported last week that its 30,000 acre corn crop in Gambella in western Ethopia was wiped out when the Baro and Alwero rivers overflowed their banks and overwhelmed Karuturi’s  80km long  system of protective dikes. Head honcho Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi  said his company took a $15 million “hit” from the floods.  He was manifestly puzzled by the intensity of the calamity: “This kind of flooding we haven’t seen before. This is a crazy amount of water.”

Karuturi is today the proud owner of  “2,500 sq km of virgin, fertile land – an area the size of Dorset, England-” in Ethiopia. Truth be told, Karuturi did not ask for this bountiful giveaway, nor did it lay eyes on it when it was presented with a 50-year “lease” on a golden platter by the ruling regime in Ethiopia. Karuturi was offered the land together with generous tax breaks and other perks for £150 a week ($USD245). Karuturi Project Manager in Ethiopia, Karmjeet Sekhon, giggled euphorically as he told Guardian reporter John Vidal the amazing story of how his company became the beneficiary of one of the largest free land giveaways in post-colonial  African history:

We never saw the land. They gave it to us and we took it. Seriously, we did. We did not even see the land. (Triumphantly cackling laughter.) They offered it. That’s all. It’s very good land. It’s quite cheap. In fact it is very cheap. We have no land like this in India. There [India] you are lucky to get 1% of organic matter in the soil. Here it is more than 5%. We don’t need fertiliser or herbicides. There is absolutely nothing that will not grow on it. To start with there will be 20,000 hectares of oil palm, 15,000 hectares of sugar cane and 40,000 hectares of rice, edible oils and maize and cotton. We are building reservoirs, dykes, roads, towns of 15,000 people. This is phase one. In three years time we will have 300,000 hectares cultivated and maybe 60,000 workers. We could feed a nation here.

The ruling regime in Ethiopia claims that it “leased” uninhabited wilderness to Karuturi. It denies forcing the local people out of their land and “villagizing” (herding them into official villages) the heck out of them. But the evidence is incontrovertible. The “leased” land is not only the ancestral home of the people of Gambella but also the basis of their entire livelihood and survival as a tiny minority in the Ethiopian family. For Gambellans who live as pastoralist and subsistence farmers, massive dispossession and auctioning off their land for pennies will inevitably destroy the very fabric of their society and way of life and threaten them with extinction.

Karuturistan, Ethiopia (formerly Gambella, Ethiopia)

It is said that in Ethiopia “land is owned by the government.” If the “government” is the largest land owner, Karuturi must be the largest plantation owner and second largest land owner in that impoverished country. Indeed, it would be most appropriate to rename Gambella “Karuturistan” in the interest of  full disclosure and accurate description of what is happening on the ground. Karuturi says it has all kinds of plans for its vast land holdings. It will “build taller dikes” to enclose the plantations “with no connection with outside water except through manually operated devices.” Karuturi is “aggressively rolling out an agriculture business venture in Ethiopia” and plans to “outsource  20,000 hectares of farm land in the African nation to Indian farmers on a revenue-sharing basis.” A “senior Kauturi official” told India’s leading business newspaper, the Business Standard, “We have got a decent response. We intend to give land and the necessary infrastructure to farmers who have the expertise in specific crop cultivation and get into a revenue share (65%:35%) with them. We hope to have agreements reached for around 20,000 hectares in the near future as part of the first phase.” Karuturi is actively negotiating with farmers from Punjab, India to launch its outsourcing venture.

Karuturi’s business model is simple: “Ask not what Karuturi can do for Ethiopia, but  what Ethiopians  can do for Karuturi.” Karuturi is in Ethiopia for only one thing: Profit and more profits. Just as it has built “dikes to enclose its plantations from flood water”, it  also maintains a social, psychological and security enclosure to insulate itself from the local Gambella community . Karuturi maintains a virtual agricultural treasure island in Gambella. While foreign farmers are brought in as modern sharecroppers and given partnership interest, Gambella’s farmers are offered or given nothing. Why not offer Gambella farmers (the real owners of the land) a 35 percent share just like the Punjabi farmers?

Karuturi says it intends to give part of its vast landholdings to Indian farmers with “expertise”. The people of Gambella have their own time-tested agricultural expertise, but Karuturi does not want it and will not even make a symbolic gesture to help them acquire expertise by giving them training and education in new agricultural methods and techniques. Karuturi  says it will export its corn and other commodities to “South Sudan and other East African markets” using “two tug boats with the capacity to carry 600 tons each”. Yet millions of  Ethiopians are starving and dependent on foreign food aid for their daily bread.  Some 7.5 million Ethiopians are kept alive daily by international food handouts. Last week USAID chief  Raj Shah announced in Ethiopia that the US will provide $110m for famine relief. Karuturi says its commodities exports will “bring foreign exchange to the National Bank of Ethiopia.” What will Karuturi bring to the people of Ethiopia? The people of Gambella?  More poverty, exploitation, environmental degradation?

Through Rose-Colored Lenses

Karuturi Ltd., is the world’s largest producer of roses. Its slogan is said to be “Let millions  of roses bloom”. Roses are beautiful, but looking through rose-colored lenses one gets a rosy outlook on reality. Karuturi could easily mistake the vast tract of free land that was dropped on its lap, all of the tax breaks it receives, the duty free imports of machines and equipment it enjoys and all of the other preferential treatment it gets as proof  of its arrival in Nirvana, not Ethiopia. Take the rosy lenses off and Karuturi shall behold an Ethiopia that ranks at the bottom of every international economic and political index: It is among the countries in the world with the lowest per capita incomes and highest inflation and unemployment rates. The ruling regime has been classified as one of the worst violators of human rights in the world.  Karuturi looking through its rosy lenses may be unable to see the grinding poverty of the people of Gambella and the destruction of their way of life when they were forced to give up so much of their ancestral lands.

The most troubling aspect of Karuturi’s “investment” in Ethiopia  is not only that it has created an island of wealth and prosperity in a sea of poverty in Gambella, but that its large-scale  commercial farming operations and practices are manifestly unsustainable and likely to have a severely negative impact on the land and the way of life of the people. Numerous experts continue to warn that large-scale commercial farming operations and practices by land-grabbing multinational companies that use forest burning to clear the land, channel rivers and introduce exotic crop species cause permanent and irreversible environmental damage and ecological imbalance. The capital-intensive technologies of the multinationals displace local farmers and render them irrelevant necessitating outsourcing and importation of foreign farmers with “expertise”. “When over one-hundred papers were presented at the International Conference on Global Land Grabbing in 2011, not one positive outcome could be found for local communities.”

In Gambella, the people complain that despite millions of dollars in investments by Karuturi, they have seen few jobs, schools, clinics or clean water facilities for their use. At the end of the day, the people of Gambella will be the ones suffering the long-term effects of deforestation (land clearance by burning),  reduction of ecological diversity, loss of local species, and environmental contamination caused by herbicides and pesticides used in large-scale commercial farming. When fertile Gambella becomes a virtual desert, the multinationals will move to another oasis in Africa.

Karuturi needs to take off its rosy lenses and ask itself a few questions: How could it create jobs and business opportunities for local Ethiopians when it is outsourcing its landholdings to Indian farmers? How could it improve the agricultural expertise of those Ethiopians in the local area when it is bringing in foreign “experts”?  How could Ethiopia ever achieve food security and feed its explosively growing and food aid-dependent population when it is shipping out agricultural commodities on 600-ton tugboats under cover of darkness to feed the people of other nations? What will Karuturi do in the face of Ethiopia’s spreading hunger, famine and uncontrolled population growth? Will it build larger dikes, walls, fences and levees to keep the people out of its corn filelds?  Will the regime send its soldiers to protect Karuturi from the hungry and starving hordes of Ethiopians begging for a few ears of corn at Karuturi’s gates?

There is a Better Way

Karuturi has the option of doing the right thing: Dump the current land acquisition and ownership deal and replace it with contract farming and deal directly with the farmers of Gambella (not Punjabi farmers). Karuturi (and other foreign investors) could provide the technology and capital, and the Ethiopians will be obligated to provide the land and labor. Karuturi could provide training to farmers in Gambella and enhance their “expertise” to make them more productive. Karuturi could supply grains and other agricultural commodities for the Ethiopian market  profitably and over the long term maintain a sustainable and ecologically balanced agricultural venture. Is this too radical an idea or is it too old fashioned?

Rainbow Sign After the Flood?

It has been argued that regimes that seek out or fall prey to the big multinational land grabbers are dictatorships that exist on international charity and handouts and are thoroughly mired in corruption and debt. There is much talk these days about a “second generation colonialism” spearheaded by profit-hungry land grabbing multinationals.  Some even talk about a “green gold rush” for fertile African land  sold at fire sale prices by African dictators eager to line their pockets. These shameless moneygrubbing  dictators will even agree to a deal that will export grain out of their countries as their population starves and they are panhandling the world for food handouts.

Truth be told, no one except a few of the top leaders of the ruling regime know the real deal in the land giveaway to Karuturi. Very little useful information is evident in the “agreement” made public with Karuturi.  That “agreement” offers nothing more than the usual boilerplate full of meaningless legal mumbo jumbo routinely used for such “leases” by multinational land grabbers everywhere.  For instance, the “agreement” alludes to environmental safety but provides no specific environmental standards to be followed. It talks about jobs, infrastructures and the rest but provides no specifics or details on the timetable for implementation or the scope of Karuturi’s obligations.

Over a century and a half ago, far, far away from Karuturistan,  a prophesy was told in the lyrics of a song of African slaves toiling on vast cotton and tobacco plantations in America. “God gave Noah the rainbow sign: No more water. The fire next time!” God has given the people of Ethiopia  the rainbow sign: Unite and come together as one rainbow nation. For those who divide and misrule and sell and buy pieces of Ethiopia, the sign says: No more water!

Release all political prisoners in Ethiopia, NOW!

Related commentary:

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72121

Previous commentaries by the author are available at: www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ andhttp://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

Ethiopia: Divide and Misrule? Unite and Lead!

Posted on , Updated on by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Alemayehu G. Mariam

We, the People…

Unity is the most powerful gravitational force in the life of any people or nation. When the Americans founded their Republic, they were driven to transform their colonial identity by creating unity in a new American community. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…” they announced to the world in the Preamble to their Constitution. When some Americans sought to destroy the union to preserve slavery and cleave the country, Abraham Lincoln rose to defend the indivisibility and unity of the American people: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free”, he warned those bent on “dissolving the Union”. A bloody civil war was fought to save the Union and the unity of the American people. Another Illinoisan, Barack Obama, declared at the Democratic National Convention in 2004: “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America – there’s the United States of America.”

Is there a united people of Ethiopia today? For the past two decades, the maxim of those who have riveted themselves to the platform of power in Ethiopia has been: “We, the rulers of the people, in order to form a more perfect disunion…” They have put to use the ultimate weapon found in the arsenal of tyranny and despotism. They have divided and misruled, divided and subjugated, and divided and parceled away the land in bits, pieces and chunks. They have managed to systematically divide the people by region, city, town and even neighborhood. They have succeeded in dividing the people by corralling them into homelands (bantustans) in the name of “ethnic federalism”. They have sought to divide the people by language and religion, and even rupture the bonds of affection between Ethiopians living in the country and those in the Diaspora.

They have masterfully and cunningly used every means at their disposal to exploit and accentuate historic grievances and create new ones to cling to power. They have worked tirelessly to divide the minds, thoughts and emotions of the people by inventing lies, manufacturing half-truths, sowing discord and spreading fear, loathing and animosity. They have hatched differences where none exist, magnified and exacerbated reconcilable differences and politicized such differences and used them to prolong their grip on power. They have pitted one group against another; favored some groups and isolated and marginalized many others. Their only and final answer to the question of Ethiopian unity has been: “If Ethiopia disintegrates, so be it. It was not meant to be.”

Towards a more perfect unity for Ethiopians

Tyranny, despotism and dictatorship thrive and flourish when the people are disunited and the tyrants and their supporters maintain their ironclad unity. The single most important factor for the success of tyranny is disunity and division among the people. Unity is the ultimate antidote to tyranny and the force tyrants fear the most. Lacking unity, there could only be a weak and helpless Ethiopian community. Unity is strength; and to make possible a more perfect union among Ethiopians, a special kind of unity that grows out of our common humanity is urgently needed. This special unity is grounded in a fundamental belief that our common bonds of humanity are greater than the sum of our bonds of ethnicity, nationality and communality. It is a unity that harmonizes African and Western values. It draws upon the African ethic of “Ubuntu”, often used by Nelson Mandela to teach us about the essence of human existence: “A person is a person because of other people. You can do nothing if you don’t get the support of other people.” “Ubunity” (to coin a term) is unity that requires us to see each other as brothers and sisters and relate to each other on the basis of the principles of sharing, caring, trust, tolerance, honesty and morality. The special unity of which I speak is also grounded in an unshakeable belief that our individual liberty must be protected against those who commit crimes against humanity and acts of atrocity, sneer at public accountability and abuse their authority and act beyond the limits of  constitutionality.

I ask all Ethiopians to strive for a special kind of unity which I call both “humunity” and “younity” (to coin new terms). “Huminity” is unity based not on ethnicity or nationality but on the core universal values of human dignity. It is unity that is powered by a moral commitment to respect and uphold human rights, an allegiance to the rule of law, a belief in the consent of the people as the only legitimate basis of power, and strict adherence to principles of constitutional governance, accountability and transparency. If we could develop wide and deep consensus on these values, we would have achieved unity of thought, purpose and consciousness.  If we put these values into action by defending the rights of victims of human rights abuses, working for improvements in the observance of human rights conventions, organizing, teaching and preparing the youth for a democratic society, exposing corruption and abuse of power, strengthening our interpersonal relations across ethnic, religious and class lines, we will have achieved unity in action and deeds. Is it not true that the things that divide us, sow discord and hatred amongst us are rooted in and fester because of the very absence of these universal values in our lives?

Tyrants divide the people by magnifying the smallest of differences. Often, the people fall prey to the schemes of tyrants and sing their songs of discord and division. But in my conception of “huminity”, it is possible to have diversity of opinion, views and approaches because I believe “Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.” If we embrace and practice the universal principles of human rights, we will realize that it is not about our ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, region or anything else, but what we can do collectively and individually to remove the yoke of oppression and tyranny and institute democracy and the rule of law.

My conception of “younity” is a simple idea about you and I together standing up to tyranny and oppression. It is based on the notion that each one of us is a link in a long chain of both oppression and freedom. Our yearning for freedom welds the links in the chain of unity; tyranny melts the links. I believe we all have an individual civic and moral duty to strengthen the links and bonds of unity in the Ethiopian people by embracing and practicing the core values of human dignity and rights. Political leaders must adopt a new and more powerful language of “huminity” to bring the people of divergent views together. Religious leaders must speak of “huminity” in the language of divinity. They should preach and pray for unity. Civic leaders must speak up and advocate for “huminity”. Academics must teach the ways of “huminity”to the youth; and the youth must teach the older generation of the necessity of “huminity” for a new and enlightened Ethiopian community. Most importantly, ordinary people in the street must speak in the language of our common humanity (ubunity) to achieve ultimate unity.

Unity in the cause of liberty is the only proven weapon in the history of mankind that has defeated tyranny, despotism and dictatorship. In 1776, thirteen American colonies successfully united in a struggle against royal tyranny that had visited upon them a “long train of abuses and usurpations” and “reduce[d] them under absolute Despotism”. Africans overthrew colonialism and apartheid when they united against a common oppressor. More recently, the people of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia proved the proposition that “The people united can never be defeated.”

The price of disunity is continued victimization, exploitation, fragmentation and disintegration.  We can choose to engage in internecine bickering and fear and hate-mongering. We can work at cross-purposes, undermine, undercut and underrate each other, but at the end of the day we will only have the unity of losers. Or we can choose the path of  unity, ubunity, huminity and younity.

Ethiopians of all backgrounds must come together in spirit of brother and sisterhood. They must build bridges across ethnic, religious, linguistic and other divides by building alliances, coalitions and reinforcing our historic interdependence. When there is unity among the people, everything is possible. Diversity reigns supreme where there is unity. The pursuit of social, economic and political equality is much more easily attainable when there is unity among the people. The individual finds greater opportunity in a society that enjoys unity. Through unity we can go beyond the limits of humanity to the boundless realm of divinity.

We the People of Ethiopia

Some are perfectly willing to cast the fate of Ethiopia to the wind and say, “If Ethiopia disintegrates, so be it. It was not meant to be.” I believe the unity of all Ethiopians is divinely ordained. That is why I look forward to the day when Ethiopians– men and women, young and old, rich and poor, city dwellers and country folks, the learned and illiterate and those of diverse faiths and languages– will assemble and issue a Great Charter announcing to the world: “We, the people of Ethiopia, in order to form a more perfect Union…”

SUPPORT ETHIOPIAN UNITY, HUMINITY, YOUNITY, UBUNITY!

Release all political prisoners in Ethiopia, NOW!

Previous commentaries by the author are available at: www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ andhttp://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/