Ethiopia’s government said it won’t cooperate with a probe into whether the World Bank violated its own policies by funding a program in which thousands of people were allegedly relocated to make way for agriculture investors.
Ethnic Anuak people in Ethiopia’s southwestern Gambella region and rights groups including Human Rights Watch last year accused the Washington-based lender of funding a program overseen by soldiers to forcibly resettle 45,000 households. The Inspection Panel of the World Bank, an independent complaints mechanism, began an investigation in October into the allegations, which donors and the government have denied.
“We are not going to cooperate with the Inspection Panel,” Getachew Reda, a spokesman for Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, said in a phone interview on May 22. “To an extent that there’s a need for cooperation, it’s not going to be with the Inspection Panel, but with the World Bank”
Ethiopia, Africa’s most-populous nation after Nigeria, has made 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) of land available to agriculture companies. Investors include Karuturi Global Ltd. (KARG) of India, the world’s largest rose grower, and companies owned by Saudi billionaire Mohamed al-Amoudi.
There is a “plausible link” between the Promoting Basic Services program, partly funded by the bank to pay the salaries of local government workers, and a resettlement process also known as villagization in Gambella, the panel said in a Nov. 19 report obtained by Bloomberg News. The World Bank confirmed the authenticity of the report.
‘Potential Non-Compliance’
The concurrent implementation of PBS and the resettlement program may raise issues of “potential serious non-compliance with bank policy,” according to the report.
“From a development perspective, the two programs depend on each other, and may mutually influence the results of the other,” the panel said.
Human Rights Watch, based in New York, made similar allegations about the resettlement program in a January 2012 report. Those findings and the Inspection Panel process are part of a “propaganda campaign being waged against the government,” Getachew said by phone from the capital, Addis Ababa. “It’s not a World Bank inspection panel, it’s a panel that likes to impose its mostly fictitious findings on the decision-making process of the World Bank.”
About 35,000 households voluntarily moved over the past three years in Gambella and now have better access to public services and are growing more food, State Minister of Federal Affairs Omod Obang Olum said in a May 15 interview.
‘Unprecedented’
The complaint to the panel was made on behalf of 26 Anuaks now living in South Sudan and Kenya. Refusal to cooperate with the panel by a World Bank member state is “unprecedented,” said David Pred, a managing associate at Inclusive Development International, or IDI, a California-based human-rights group that assisted with the complaint.
“I don’t see how the bank could justifiably continue supporting Ethiopia if the government simply rejects outright any semblance of accountability,” he said in an e-mailed response to questions.
The complaints should be investigated further “as they pertain to the bank’s application of its policies and procedures,” the panel said. The probe should not look at allegations of “specific human rights abuses” or the “underlying purposes” of the resettlement program, it said.
Donor Aid
Donors provided $3.56 billion of aid to Ethiopia in 2011, which was 11.3 percent of gross national income, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The World Bank said that while officials on PBS-funded salaries may have “responsibilities related” to resettlement, this doesn’t mean the two programs were “directly linked,” according to the panel.
There was no evidence of “forced relocations or systematic human-rights abuses,” according to reports by two fact-finding missions in 2011 and 2012 by donors including the U.K. and U.S. aid agencies. “Half of the people interviewed said they didn’t want to move” and some said public services hadn’t been provided in new sites, the 2012 report found.
PBS “does not build upon villagization, it is not synchronized with villagization, and does not require villagization to achieve its objectives,” the World Bank’s management said in response to the complaint. “Furthermore the bank does not finance” villagization.
Election Violence
PBS began in 2006 after donors stopped “direct budget support” to the federal government because of violence following a disputed 2005 election. The program provides block grants to regional governments that are mainly spent on education, health, agriculture, water and road workers.
A postponed March 19 discussion of PBS by the bank’s board has yet to be rescheduled, Guang Chen, the bank’s Ethiopia director, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “Staff are not authorized to comment prior to the board discussion,” he said.
Since 2006, PBS has cost donors and the government $13 billion, the panel said. The ongoing phase is funded by the government, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Union, the U.K., Austria and Italy.
The panel also can’t comment at this stage, operations analyst Dilya Zoirova said in an e-mailed response to questions.
H.I.M. Haile Selassie and bronze statue of Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah
Ethiopia Rising!
The Organization of African Unity (OAU)/African Union (AU replaced OAU in 2002) began celebrating its Golden Jubilee in Addis Ababa this past week. In May 1963 when the OAU was founded, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah accentuated his closing remarks by reciting a poem he had specially commissioned as a crowning tribute to an ascendant Ethiopia. Addressing H.I.M. Haile Selassie, President Nkrumah said, “It only remains for me, Your Majesty, on behalf of my colleagues and myself, to convey to the Government and people of Ethiopia especially to His Imperial Majesty, my sincere expression of gratitude for a happy and memorable stay in Addis Ababa…” With confident cadence, Nkrumah recited a poem of such exquisite eloquence and grace that my eyes well up every time I read it. These were Nkruma’s own words.
Ethiopia shall rise
Ethiopia, Africa’s bright gem
Set high among the verdant hills
That gave birth to the unfailing
Waters of the Nile
Ethiopia shall rise
Ethiopia, land of the wise;
Ethiopia, bold cradle of Africa’s ancient rule
And fertile school
Of our African culture;
Ethiopia, the wise
Shall rise
And remould with us the full figure
Of Africa’s hopes
And destiny.
HI.M. Haile Selassie (C) and Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah (L) at the OAU (1963)
When the erection of a commemorative statue on the grounds of the AU was proposed for H.I.M. in 2011, the late “great visionary leader” in Ethiopia opposed it saying, “It is only Nkrumah who is remembered whenever we talk about pan Africanism. It is a shame not to accept his role.” He succeeded in denying H.I.M. Haile Selassie the simple recognition of a bronze statute. What a shame to be black hearted! What a shame to be shameless! What a crying shame to minimize, trivialize and marginalize the contributions of the prime architect of African unity! History bears witness that H.I.M. exterted extraordinary effort and brought together the “Casablanca” and “Monrovia” Groups making itpossible to launch the OAU. He worked tirelessly for the cause of African unity. At that historic inaugural conference, H.I.M. made the most compelling case, the most passionate plea for African unity, independence and Pan-Africanism:
…We look to the vision of an Africa not merely free but united. In facing this new challenge, we can take comfort and encouragement from the lessons of the past. We know that there are differences among us. Africans enjoy different cultures, distinctive values, special attributes. But we also know that unity can be and has been attained among men of the most disparate origins, that differences of race, of religion, of culture, of tradition, are no insuperable obstacle to the coming together of peoples. History teaches us that unity is strength, and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity… Our efforts as free men must be to establish new relationships, devoid of any resentment and hostility, restored to our belief and faith in ourselves as individuals, dealing on a basis of equality with other equally free peoples…
As I reflect on the efforts of the Founding Fathers of the OAU, I am nary concerned about erecting bronze or marble statues for them. I am concerned about and outraged by the mangling and distortion of history by self-important blind “visionaries” who hide behind the robes of the giants of African unity (instead of standing on their shoulders) to ply their mission of Ethiopian disunity. If history were about symbols and titles, H.I.M. Haile Selassie had more of it than any African leader. He was elected by his peers as the “Father of African Unity” at the 1972 Ninth Heads of States and Governments meeting of the Organization of African Unity. He was elected the first chairman of the OAU in 1963 and elected again in 1966 to serve in the same position, making him the only African leader to have held that position twice. He was the African face of resistance, defiance and victory over European colonialism. He does not need the advocacy or opprobrium of a myopic Johnny-come-lately to erect a statute in recognition of his singular contributions to the continent.
History is full of ironies. Those who championed a statue for Nkrumah because “only (he) is remembered whenever we talk about pan Africanism” would roll over in their graves if they only knew of Nkrumah’s deep love for Ethiopia. Nkrumah had a special place for Ethiopia in his heart. Though he was the foremost Pan-Africanist, he also saw Ethiopia as a special beacon of light and freedom for all of Africa in its defiant struggle against European colonialism . He took pride in the fact that Ethiopia was able to defend its sovereignty and independence against repeated incursions by European colonialists. He saw Ethiopia as the spoke in the wheel of African unity.
Nkrumah was passionate about Pan-Africanism, but he never commissioned a poem for Pan-Africanism. Nkrumah was passionate about Africa, but he never commissioned a poem for Africa Rising. Nkrumah loved Pan-Africanism and Africa, but he had a love affair with Ethiopia. That is why he commissioned a special poem in honor of her beauty and bounty for his final words at the closing of the very first OAU summit. Nkrumah is the only leader in the world who has ever commissioned a panegyric poem for Ethiopia! We should all be happy and proud to have Nkrumah’s statue on the grounds of the AU in Ethiopia. H.I.M. Haile Selassie will no doubt get his statue in time because “truth cannot remain forever on the scaffold nor wrong remain forever on the throne.”
Looking back, I believe Nkrumah was not only an ardent Pan-Africanist but also an African “prophet”. Nkrumah knew Ethiopia shall rise long before the blind visionaries made her slip and fall into the quagmire of ethnic politics. Nkrumah knew Ethiopia shall rise long before the shameless declared “Africa is rising… The African Renaissance has begun…” Nkrumah knew Africa should beware of neocolonial and imperialist ambitions, machinations and designs lest she fall, long before the witless panhandlers sought to make a name for themselves by maligning “neoliberalism” while sucking its teats dry.
Nkrumah’s poem is indeed “prophesy”. “Ethiopia shall rise!” Like the morning sun and the full moon at midnight, Ethiopia shall rise. She shall rise up and shake off the sooty dust of dictatorship that covers her. Ethiopia shall rise again and brightly shine like a precious gem. She shall rise above sectarianism and communalism. She shall rise from the depths of doubt to heights of faith. Ethiopia shall rise, and stretch out her arms and embrace all her children and in turn be embraced by Providence.
Nkrumah is a true son of Ethiopia. When they said Ethiopia’s history is only one hundred years old, Nkrumah said “No. Ethiopia is the cradle of Africa’s ancient rule.” When they tried to shroud Ethiopia in the darkness of tyranny and dictatorship, Nkrumah said, “No can do. Ethiopia is Africa’s bright gem.” She must shine. Let her rise and shine! When they said, “nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the Ethiopian people,” Nkrumah said, “No. Ethiopia is the land of the wise.” When they hatched plans to make the Nile a source of war, death and destruction, Nkrumah said, “No. Ethiopia is the birthplace of the Nile” which gives the gift of life to Africa. When they toiled day and night to crush our spirits and cast our souls into the pit of despair and misery, Nkrumah said, “Hold on! Ethiopia is Africa’s hope and destiny. ” We must forge ahead. Nkrumah is not only Ghana’s son, but also Ethiopia’s. When we sometimes lose faith and feel downcast, let our spirits rise and be carried on Nkrumah’s prophetic words, “Ethiopia shall rise.” So, there is no competition between H.I.M. and Nkrumah. They are both Ethiopia’s distinguished sons. Honoring Nkrumah is honoring H.I.M. Haile Selassie.
As I read Nkrumah’s poem from May 1963, I also remember H.I.M. Haile Selassie’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly in October 1963. In that speech, H.I.M. passionately defended the cause of Pan-Africanism and articulated the ideology needed for the ongoing struggle to protect and defend African independence and secure world peace:
… Until the philosophy that holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned; until there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nature; until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes, and until the basic human rights are guaranteed to all without regard for race… the dream of lasting peace … will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued but never attained…. That until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and South Africa in subhuman bondages have been toppled and destroyed; until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding, tolerance and good-will; until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men as they are in Heaven — until that day the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil…
Bob Marley used these words as lyrics to his song “War”, which became the battle hymn of African unity and independence. (I wish someone could put Nkrumah’s poem to music: “Ethiopia shall rise…rise…” Up-rise!)
In a risen Ethiopia, there shall be no place for a philosophy that holds one ethnic, religious, linguisitc or gender group superior to another. There shall no longer be first class and second-class citizens in Ethiopia. In a risen Ethiopia, ethnicity, religion, language, region or gender shall have no more significance than the color of one’s eyes. In a risen Ethiopia, human rights shall be guaranteed to all.
Aah! The OAU/AU
It is heartbreaking for me to comment on the OAU/AU. In 2013, of the 47 countries in the world with the lowest human development index, 36 of them are in Africa! President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania once described the OAU as “a talking Club of Heads of States”. Others have described it as the “Dictators’ Club” or “Dictator’s Trade Union”. George Ayittey, the internationally acclaimed Ghanaian economist does not mince words sizing up the AU: “Please, please, don’t ask about the African Union. It is the most useless organization we have on the continent. It can’t even define ‘democracy’ and it is completely bereft of originality.”
I expressed deep disappointment and disillusionment when the new AU headquarters in Addis Ababa was constructed by the Chinese government at a cost of USD$200 million and delivered to the AU in February 2012 as “China’s gift to Africa.” Not only was I ashamed to learn that the China State Construction Engineering Corporation constructed the building using nearly all Chinese workers, I was also distressed to find out China picked up the entire tab for the building, fixtures and furniture. At the dedication ceremony, Africa’s shameless “leaders” lined up to shower praise on China. “Africa is rising… The African Renaissance has begun and we have the means to keep it going…”
I said Africa is not rising. Africa has fallen into beggary. China is rising in Africa. China has the means to keep itself going in Africa. China’s Renaissance in Africa has begun. The new AU building in Addis Ababa is a symbol of African shame not fame. Its claim of renaissance glory is illusory. If the African Union and its leaders cannot afford to chip in and collectively build the most visible, iconic and symbolic edifice for an Africa Rising, there is not much I could say except to call it, as I did, “African Beggars Union Hall”.
The OAU/AU and Human Rights
Despite OAU/AU aspirations to secure the political, economic and social integration of African countries and lead the continent into development and prosperity, I view the organization as having at its core a human rights mission. I do not believe there can be African development or unity as long as the human rights of ordinary Africans are trampled and trashed every day. OAU’s core values of anti-colonialism, -neo-colonialism, -imperialism and Pan-Africanism were essentially human rights values in the struggle against European dehumanization of Africans. Colonialism (neocolonialism) had no regard for the human rights of colonized (neocolonized) peoples.
The OAU/AU has been ineffective and largely irrelevant in African human rights. In many parts of Africa civil and border wars have raged for decades costing the lives of millions as the OAU/AU looked on with folded arms. The OAU/AU has turned a blind eye, deaf ear and muted lips as African dictators massacre their own citizens. The OAU stood fidgeting as the Rwanda Genocide consumed a million innocent Africans, without plans to avert or stop that genocide. The OAU did not even want to label it “genocide”!
For over two decades, the OAU/AU has watched Somalia spiraling into chaos, unable to help free the suffering people of Somalia from the clutches of competing warlords and protect them from aggression. The AU could not even deliver a sufficient number of peacekeeping troops in Somalia to secure peace and begin its reconstruction. The AU twiddled its thumbs as French troops entered Cote d’Ivoire to restore democratic rule. The AU sat on its rear end as France sent less than 5 thousand soldiers to expel a ragtag army of terrorists from Mali. The OAU stood by idly as elections were stolen in broad daylight in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda.
The AU closed ranks to coddle criminals against humanity. When Omar Bashir of Sudan was indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, the official line was “The AU Member States shall not cooperate pursuant to the provisions of Article 98 of the Rome Statute of the ICC relating to immunities, for the arrest and surrender of President Omar El Bashir of the Sudan”. The AU will protect and shelter the Butcher of Darfur from facing justice in the name of “African sovereignty”. Because the AU has failed miserably to curtail flagrant violations of human rights, the ICC had to step in to protect Africans. As of 2011, the ICC has opened investigations in seven African countries.
The AU’s idea of human rights is having endless conferences, meetings and issuing declarations, resolutions and MOUs on human rights. There is an African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) with all sorts of protocols for children and women. There is an African Human Rights Commission. It has little to show for itself except lofty declarations and resolutions. There is an AU Department of Political Affairs which is supposed to deal with human rights, democracy and elections. It claims as one of its core missions election observance in member states. In 2010, when the late Meles Zenawi declared electoral victory by 99.6 percent, the 60-person African Union (AU) observer team led by former Botswana president Ketumile Masire concluded the “elections were free and fair and found no evidence of intimidation and misuse of state resources for ruling party campaigns.” Masire proclaimed:
The [elections] were largely consistent with the African Union regulations and standards and reflect the will of the people… The AU were unable to observe the pre-election period. The participating parties expressed dissatisfaction with the pre-election period. We had no way of verifying the allegations.
Today Africa is more disunited and fragmented than ever. Pan-Africanism is dead. A new ideology is sweeping over Africa today. Africa’s dictators are furiously beating the drums of “tribal nationalism” all over the continent to cling to power. In many parts of Africa today ideologies of “ethnic identity”, “ethnic purity,” “ethnic homelands”, ethnic cleansing and tribal chauvinism have become fashionable. In the Cote d’Ivoire, an ideological war has been waged over ‘Ivoirité’ (‘Ivorian-ness’) since the 1990s. Proponents of this perverted ideology argue that the country’s problems are rooted in the contamination of genuine Ivorian identity by outsiders who have been allowed to immigrate freely into the country.
In Ethiopia, tribal politics has been repackaged in a fancy wrapper called “ethnic federalism.” Ethiopians have been segregated by ethno-tribal classifications in grotesque political units called “kilils” (reservations) or glorified apartheid-style Bantustans or tribal homelands. This sinister perversion of the concept of federalism has enabled a few corrupt kleptocratic dictators to oppress, divide and rule some 80 million people for over two decades.
The great African author Chinua Achebe wrote a book (Things Fall Apart) asking why things keep falling apart in Africa. My answer is simple. Over the past one-half century of independence, it has been nearly impossible to hold Africa’s so-called leaders accountable and institute the rule of law. For fifty years, African “leaders” have evaded accountability and hoodwinked the people into believing that Africa’s problems are all externally caused. Africa is what it is (or is not) because of its colonial legacy. It is the white man. It is neocolonialism, capitalism, imperialism, neoliberalism, globalization… It is the International Monetary Fund. It is the World Bank… The continent’s underdevelopment, poverty, corruption and mismanagement are all caused by evil powers outside the continent.
Things fall apart in Africa because African “leaders” do not respect the human rights of their people. To paraphrase Achebe, Africa is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.” Few African leaders respect the dignity and humanity of their people. How can Africa rise when her leaders trip and make her fall every time, and keep her from rising up by pressing their boots on her neck. But things that fall apart also come together and rise.
So, here is my anniversary poem on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the OAU/African Union, which I dedicate to H.I.M. Haile Selassie and President Kwame Nkrumah, the undisputed Champions of Pan-Africanism) .
Ethiopia up-Rising! Africa Rising!
Ethiopia Africa’s bright gem
Shall rise up from the ashes of tyranny
Like the spring sun rising at dawn over the African horizon
Like the full moon rising over the darkness of the African night
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!
Ethiopia shall rise from the heights of Ras Dejen
To the peaks of Kilimanjaro
From the pits of the politics of identity
To the summit of national unity and diversity
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!
Ethiopia of the wise
Shall rise above the streetwise
Its people to galvanize, mobilize and organize
To humanize, harmonize and compromise
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!
Ethiopia Africa’s hope and destiny
Shall rise and its tyrants shall fall
Their lies, cruelty and corruption
Buried with them in the steel coffin of history
For “justice will rise in Ethiopia like the sun, with abundance of peace forever.”
Ethiopia shall rise by the sinews of her youth
Up-rise on the wings of her persevering children
Ethiopia shall rise and rise
Her youth will up-rise
Rise Ethiopia, up-rise.
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.
Previous commentaries by the author are available at:
http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/
www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/
Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:
A country is best represented by its people or leadership and leaders are the ones who are of the people by the people and for the people.
As a result, leadership shapes the character, behavior and culture of its people and the country.
A country’s good or bad image is determined by the good or bad image of its leader.
In this regard, it is the right time for Ethiopia to talk about the demonstration of the above facts.
Ethiopia is hosting one of the biggest continental events. As a seat of the continent’s grandest institution, Addis Ababa is colorfully celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Organization of African Unity/African Union (OAU/AU). Because of this all eyes are focused here.
Fifty-four African countries are represented and have convened here to celebrate the union.
This historical advantage has lifted the country’s image to the highest stage. So who to be praised? No doubt, its brightest leaders. Certainly, Emperor Haile-Selassie I. He is considered by many to be the Father of Africa. In the last half of the 20th century, Haile-Selassie’s name has never been omitted whenever the OAU is mentioned. It seems that His Majesty had amassed all the credit for the country’s success in the formation of OAU.
However, little attention is given to those who were doing the work behind the scenes. Sometimes, the success of these individuals goes unnoticed.
Obviously, one Ethiopian has been overshadowed by Emperor Haile-Selassie’s grace and reputation regarding the OAU. The man who looks to be left under the surface is the architect and the master whose role was instrumental. Also he is the person who was able to make Addis Ababa the home of the OAU.
He is the late Ketema Yifru, Haile-Selassie’s Foreign Minister He is rarely heard of and that is why some call him the “unsung hero” while others describe him as the “Amed Afash” (a person who is negatively rewarded).
After serving as a foreign minister for ten years from (1961 to 1971) he spent eight years in prison when the Derg was in power.
Ketema Yifru was also recognized by the media as having played a prominent role in the creation of Africa’s regional organization.
In a recently published article on his personal blog, Ketema Yifru’s son, Mekonnen Ketema quoted that his father as saying:
“Based on the discussions I had with my father as well as his taped and written interviews, I now clearly understand what he meant when he said, ‘Only a few are aware of the hard work and all the effort that brought about the creation of the OAU.’ Most of the public is not aware of the shuttle diplomacy, the closed door negotiations, and all the tireless effort, in general, that paved the way towards creating the OAU. In addition, the majority of the public are not aware of the fierce diplomatic battle that was fought by a number of states to have the OAU headquartered in their respective capital cities.
Legacy in vain?
Ketma Yifru’s widow, Rahel Sinegiorgis, was approached by The Reporter yesterday at her home located around Enderase, Casanchis. She said that she is unhappy about neglecting Ketema’s contribution towards the formation of OAU. “His legacy is really ignored,” she says.
Asked whether she was invited by the for the AU celebration she said, “No one remembers me and he was considered as if he was an ordinary person who has no contribution towards the existence of the organization.”
She remembers what the feeling was among the family when Ketema was about to propose the possibility of Ethiopian success to achieve the formation of OAU and making the seat of the OAU in Addis Ababa.
“It was really in an overwhelming moment when he first intended to propose his idea to His Majesty. Our concern was if his idea would become unsuccessful that will eventually bring shame and humiliation for the Emperor as he was a respected and graceful leader throughout the world”
In his will, he wrote from prison to his wife and children he describe himself as a person who came from a humble family, who did not do any crime but has done an outstanding job to help his country be the seat of OAU.
Documents reveal that the former Foreign Minister was the man responsible for the staging of the 1963 Addis Ababa Summit Conference, which paved the way to the creation of the OAU.
After being promoted to the rank of Foreign Minister in 1961— a period in which the rift between the Monrovia and Casablanca Groups seemed to have caused a permanent division in the continent— Ketema was an active participant in all the meetings and negotiations that led to the creation of the OAU.
Among others, he also played a leading role in the August 1963 Dakar Foreign Ministers Conference, where the question regarding the location of the OAU’s headquarters was once and for all resolved.
Even after the 1963 conference, Ketema had traveled throughout all 32 independent nations to convince every country that Addis Ababa would be the right place to be the home of OAU.
In his article Mekonnen, describes it by quoting his father as saying, “His next step was to convince both the Monrovia and the Casablanca blocks to attend the proposed Summit Conference in Addis Ababa. It was decided that the Ethiopian government, in the person of Ketema Yifru, would lobby both groups, while the Guinean government, in the person of Diallo Telli, who became the first Secretary General of the OAU, would lobby the Casablanca Group members. It is important to note that by now the Ethiopian Foreign Minister was given full autonomy on this matter. The Emperor, who had envisioned himself as being the key player of such a diplomatic event, would give free reign to his young Foreign Minister.”
His wife’s remembers Ketema’s tour and said that he even had faced an accident but survived narrowly.
“…while he was on flight to Congo, the wing of his plane collided with a tree in the dense forest of the Congo jungle. But he was lucky and survived.” she said.
The widow also shared her feeling with The Reporter saying, “I feel sad wherever AU’s meeting is held every year because it reminds me of my husband.”
Especially, the very picture that comes to her mind is associating the African Hall and Ketema alongside His Majesty.
He was happy and considered himself as a luckiest person as he has seen OAU keep going for long years constantly and without interruption.
Verbatim from Ketema
This was the letter written by Ketema Yifru, former foreign minister and instrumental person in the formation of the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU), to his family from prison. Ketema was among the sixty ministers, generals and high-ranking officials of the Imperial era who were thrown into jail after Derg came to power.
“…..As far as I am concerned, I am confident that apart from serving my country with all my capacity and good intentions, I have done nothing wrong; hence my conscience will always be clear. If I have at all committed any crime, it would be that I, coming from a humble farmer, family rose to claim the top government position in Ethiopia which stayed under the the monopoly of a few individuals for so long. Indeed my crime is to seize the opportunity that my country has offered me and achieve great things in way that is exemplary to my fellow Ethiopians with humble begins. I always cherish the time I had and my contribution to the country while I was working in the foreign ministry. Especially, my contributions towards the formation of Organization for African Unity (OAU) and securing the permanent seat of this organization to be in Addis Ababa will always shine upon me like a morning sun, and will always be a source of pride for my wife and children.
Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) Urges Secretary Kerry to speak out on behalf of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, an independent judiciary and open political space in Ethiopia
May 21, 2013
Secretary of State John F. Kerry,
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
VIA FACSIMILE
Dear Secretary Kerry,
We are pleased to know you will be one of the distinguished guests at the 50th anniversary of the African Union. This is a celebration not for Africans alone, but for the world. Sadly, the progress made over the last half-century falls substantially short of what could have been possible.
The formation of the African Union (AU) followed the liberation of many African countries from the minority rule exercised during the colonization of Africa. At the AU’s inception, the hope for Africa was that it become a continent where freedom of expression, freedom of belief, freedom of assembly, equality, impartial justice, and the rule of law would undergird all aspects of African life—just the same as what America’s founding fathers had envisioned for the United States. However, if the founders of the AU were alive today, would they be celebrating?
Today, most African leaders on the continent have not been elected through free and fair elections and their countries do not allow basic freedoms, independent judiciaries, open political space and multi-ethnic governments. Instead, corruption is rampant, the human and civil rights of the people are violated and ethnic and religious based conflicts have caused untold suffering in places like Darfur, South Sudan, the Congo, and Rwanda. The daily struggle for survival, the dislocation of the people, cronyism, ethnic favoritism and strong-armed leaders trump the maximization of human potential on the continent for all but a few. Yet, Africans have not given up their hope for the continent and continue to strive towards progress despite these obstacles.
The organization I lead, the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), is an example of the desire of Ethiopians for such progress. The SMNE is a non-political, non-violent grassroots social justice movement of diverse Ethiopians whose mission is to advance the freedom, justice, human rights, equality, and reconciliation of all the people of Ethiopia, regardless of ethnicity, religion, political view or other differences.
The SMNE formed in response to the widespread human rights violations, injustice and repression perpetrated against the Ethiopian people by the TPLF/EPRDF an ethnic-based minority regime in power now for over 20 years. Instead, we seek a New Ethiopia where humanity comes before ethnicity or any other identity differences that can diminish the value of another human being. This is one of the SMNE’s core principles. Although you are celebrating the anniversary of the African Union at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; ironically, Ethiopia is one of the most repressive and undemocratic countries on the African continent. Ethiopia is an example of the failure of the implementation of the goals of the AU and its partners.
For example, in the last national election of 2010, the unpopular ruling party claimed a 99.6% victory after using an assortment of repressive methods to block political opponents, including imprisonment and misuse of foreign humanitarian aid to bribe voters and punish those who resisted. A few blocks away from the front door of the beautiful new building housing the African Union are journalists, political leaders, religious leaders and human rights activists who were convicted of terrorism and other crimes for simply exercising rights of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion and thought as enshrined in Article 30 of the Ethiopian Constitution. As this day is celebrated, there are those who have been taken away from their families and imprisoned just because they are asking for their God-given rights. Others have been shot and killed, tortured or driven from the country for doing this.
Mr. Secretary,
You should be aware that a protest is planned for May 25, 2013. Leaders of the Semayawi (Blue) Party, the Ethiopian opposition is calling for their supporters to come out on the anniversary of the AU to peacefully protest. Some will be wearing black as a symbol of their mourning for the lack of freedom, the criminalization of political expression, government interference in religious organizations, government control of Ethiopian institutions and its control of all aspects of life in the country—the media, the courts, the economy, the military, telecommunications, national resources, banking, the educational system and opportunities.
These protestors seek to show African observers of the AU’s celebration that they, Ethiopians of diverse ethnicity, region, gender and religion, are under tyranny. They hope it will inspire the Obama administration and others present to not overlook what is going on in reality on the ground. The protestors seek the release of all political prisoners, the restoration of freedom of expression, an independent judiciary, opening up of political space, halting the displacement of the people from their land and the rescinding of the Charities and Society Proclamation and the Anti-Terrorism laws, which both are used to silence civil society.
We are unsure about what the autocratic regime in Ethiopia will do in response. Some, especially the leaders of the protest, may be beaten, arrested and locked up in jail. The potential also exists for violence, particularly at the hands of the current government. This was the case in 2005 when Ethiopian government security forces shot and killed 197 peaceful protestors and detained tens of thousands of others. The opposition leaders were then imprisoned for 18 months.
We in the SMNE support the people and their demands for freedom, justice and meaningful reforms. We hope that the U.S., as one of the key donors to the TPLF/EPRDF regime, will not overlook this cry from the people, but instead will speak out on behalf of freedom and justice and against the use of any violence or other punitive repercussions against the people for simply exercising their God-given rights.
Mr. Secretary,
We understand the importance the US places on maintaining a relationship with Ethiopia, but it should be on the side of the people, not in support of a dictatorship. Following the Arab Spring, the people remained but the dictators were no longer in power. We call on Obama administration to side with the Ethiopian people who simply want the same freedoms Americans enjoy.
Lack of African progress cannot only be blamed on the dictatorships, but also on those who shore up their power. Some of the most democratic countries in our world should not settle for shortsighted goals—advancing their own interests. Instead, they should seek long-term goals and relationships, which must include the people. Relationships between countries, like between the US and Ethiopia, will always be most sustainable when national interests coincide with the human interests of the people.
Mr. Secretary,
This is not the first time we have approached you. We, the SMNE, sent a letter to you when you were the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. We also sent letters to: President Obama, Robert Gates, as Secretary of Defense, and to Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. If we want a freer, more vibrant, more peaceful and stable world, it cannot be done without including Africa. Our human value should rise above national boundaries for no one is free until all are free—one of our foundational principles. When this principle is followed, it will bring greater harmony between people, communities and nations.
Mr. Secretary,
We should not feed the African people rhetoric of words while feeding the dictators with aid money. This kind of thing is unhealthy and will backfire. Will President Obama now choose to side with the democratic movement of the Ethiopian people or will he continue with the status quo, supporting a dictator who has stolen the votes of the people?
If President Obama wants to work on the side of the Ethiopian people towards peace, stability and prosperity in Ethiopia and in the Horn of Africa, now is the time to show such readiness. We are extending our hand to work with you Mr. Secretary, but leave the decision up to you.
We call on the Obama administration to speak out about the injustice in Ethiopia. As for us, we will carry on our struggle until we free ourselves. We are not asking anyone else to do it—the US, the EU, or others—but, we do ask the Obama administration to not be a roadblock to our freedom. It is time for Africa to progress and thrive! That would be cause for real celebration!
H.I.M. Haile Selassie and bronze statue of Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah
HI.M. Haile Selassie (C) and Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah (L) at the OAU (1963)
