Siege is a strong term. It is normally used to describe a war situation. The invading army resorts to siege when it encounters a fortress or robust defense it cannot overcome easily. When a siege occurs the enemy surrounds the city or fortification and does not allow reinforcements to come in or permit those inside to escape.
The most famous modern day siege is that of the ‘Siege of Leningrad’ by Nazi troops during World War II. It lasted twenty-nine months. The Soviet Union lost over a million and half people. We are witnessing ‘Gaza under siege’ by Israel as you are reading this article. Human history is full of atrocities as such.
Our country Ethiopia is under siege. We are not under invasion by a foreign force. Who needs enemies when you have friends so they say. We are under siege by a homegrown enemy. We find ourselves in the most unenviable situation of crying wolf but the wolf is us. We are in a strange predicament and it is very confusing to outsiders and ourselves.
You can rally people around a foreign enemy. The enemy is identifiable. The enemy is easy to target. The brain is more willing to accept the definition of ‘enemy’. What we got in Ethiopia is blurred vision. The enemy has watered down the definition. The enemy is also relentless. The whole country is one battleground. No one is immune from being incorporated or made into a subsidiary.
Why would anybody want to destroy Ethiopia is a good question. What a diabolical thing to say or think is a rational reaction. Are you sure Ethiopia is the target is a common response. On the other hand we could be victims of what is known as the ‘law of unintended consequences’. This is how Wikipedia defines the law.
The “law of unintended consequences” (also called the “law of unforeseen consequences”) states that any purposeful action will produce some unintended consequences…
Stated in other words, each cause more than one effect and these effects will invariably include at least one unforeseen side effect. The unintended side effect can potentially be more significant than any of the intended effects.
This is a good point as any trying to understand our current crisis. What exactly was Ato Meles fighting for? How did he go about to attain that goal?
He started as an ethnic study group and formed an ethnic liberation organization. Although all those before him and around him were organized as a multi-national he choose the ethnic road.
There lies the fork on the road. His organization took the easy path. They choose to fight injustice by rallying around primitive ethnicity rather than nationality. It was a short cut.
Our current dilemma has been brewing for eighteen years or so but the seeds were planted over forty years ago. The late sixties and seventies were a time of turmoil. There were two super powers and two contending ideologies. The West was vilified due to its history of colonialism and the then war in Vietnam. Marxism was getting acceptance in the new emerging nations. Our country’s intellectuals were drawn into this philosophy to solve the many problems facing our country. The two questions of land ownership and good governance were the main issues.
We gave birth to the military junta. It was a miscarriage. Despite the Derge lasting seventeen years it was an utter failure in bringing about a positive change. We were caught between the East and the West and we were not ready or able to play that game. Everything our forefathers taught us was turned upside down. All that we learned in thousands of years were discarded in a matter of days. All that which made us Ethiopian was declared old, backward, reactionary and other not favorable adjectives. We know for a fact that most of our core beliefs were challenged and ruled unfit for the new Ethiopia.
Our current leaders are the children of that era. Meles and company built their new psudo ideology on that premise. They also took the then ascending theory of socialism as a dogma instead of a scientific philosophy to be interpreted and reinterpreted as situations change. As Lenin bastardized scientific Marxism to suit his notion of the petty bourgeois seizing power in the name of the proletariat, as Mao Tse Tung reinterpreted Lenin and substituted the peasantry for the petty bourgeois our own TPLF came up with the notion of ethnic based organization to seize and hold power.
We are all products of our environment despite what some US Senators tried to claim otherwise during the recent hearing during Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation. Ato Meles and his mentor Aboy Sebhat are perfect specimens of this assertion. Ato Meles and his comrade’s tunnel vision came from their insular upbringing in the little Village of Adwa. For Meles and company someone born in Hawzen down street from Adwa is an outsider. The rest of Ethiopia is a foreign land. It will not be farfetched to claim that it was during his trip to Addis to attend high school that Ato Meles even met an Oromo, a Gurage or a Sidama.
The many years they spent fighting the Derge was not spent in devising solutions to bring about change but rather sharpening the skills necessary to control and subjugate others. The many writings by ex TPLF members show that disproportionate amount of resources were allocated to eliminating internal dissent rather than building a democratic institution. It is not far fetched to assert that TPLF killed or exiled more Tigrean than the Derge.
What exactly did they bring with them when they marched into Addis as victors on that fateful day in 1991? They brought with them the concept of Kilil, a new revised ethnic map and a new flag. All these years fighting and this is all they have to show for it? Unfortunately this is it! No new agenda to improve agriculture, no new program to encourage rebuilding of industries or learning centers or no new idea to return our old nation on the path of reclaiming our eminence place in Africa.
It was the Derge dressed up in civilian uniform. They were happy to inherit all Derge institutions that were set up for coercion. They took ‘Kebele’ organizations and replaced the heads not the function, they appropriated internal security intact and installed their trained killers and psychos as people in charge. They inherited all land and property as state asset. They transferred state owned industries to EFFORT and called it privatization. They changed the name of their ideology from Marxism-Leninism and Enver Hoxha thought to Revolutionary Democracy.
The last eighteen years they went about looting everything that is of any value. In the words of Aboy Sebhat they built EFFORT as the premier corporation in the country. That claim is incorrect. They robed from Ethiopia. To think TPLF leaders who have never worked for a living, never paid bills from their hard earned income, never even have a simple bank account in their name but were able to build such an enterprise is absurd. It is not an exaggeration to claim EFFORT is bigger than Ethiopia. TPLF is one gigantic wealth sucking vacuum devise with tentacles in all aspect of the life of our people.
Transportation is owned by the Foreign Minister, Sugar is owned by the Military Generals, Brewery is owned by advisors, building and engineering is owned by party hacks, telecommunications and media is owned by the first lady, banking is owned by the party, coffee and other commodities are under the new exchange (TPLF subsidiary) and so on so forth. There isn’t a single aspect of movement of capital in the country without the involvement of TPLF or its subsidiaries.
This is where the ‘law of unintended consequences come in.’ Ato Meles and company organized this huge machine to loot and pillage. Think of TPLF as the parasite and Ethiopia the host. The parasite has been feeding wantonly for the last eighteen years. The host is dying. The well being of the parasite has the exact opposite effect on the host. The parasite is fat and flabby. The host is just skin and bones. The natural outcome is for both host and parasite to perish. It is possible the parasite can move on and find another host. But the host is too weak to survive. Other parasites are hovering to devour what is left of it.
On the other hand the host can wake up from its long slumber and develop an anti biotic to save it self. In this scenario the host did develop a vaccine to protect itself. Kinijit was the vaccine. It was not a fully developed vaccine. The parasite was able to adapt. It was mimicking the HIV virus. It became a moving target. What is required is what is known as a ‘cocktail’ drug. Scientists found out that HIV develops resistance to every antiviral drug and once one drug fails the whole combination is not effective anymore. The trick was finding the right combination of drugs. Kinijit was stuck on the concept of working within the system. A single drug solution. But TPLF was like our HIV lentivirus. One drug alone is not enough. Like the HIV scientists we have to come up with a ‘cocktail’ of resistance combinations. Some call it ‘hulegeb tigil’.
Now TPLF have come to another crossroads. This unquenchable thirst they have to amass wealth is creating its own contradictions. The well is in the process of drying up. What to do? Of course there is always the option of skipping town in the cover of darkness. But that will be admitting guilt thus hunting them down becomes a simple process. There is always the possibility of fanning civil war. But the ensuing chaos might consume them too. Except for a few million stashed away in foreign banks most of the wealth is still sitting in Ethiopia. With modern forensic accounting every penny deposited outside can be traced and any way what is the point of having it if you can’t enjoy it. Their unabashed greed is becoming their undoing.
In an attempt to understand their destructive polices we ascribe such explanations as their hate towards our country, being Eritrean (good old Eritrea always there) their vow to destroy our old kingdom or their grand plan to liberate Tigre as a nation. I have never been comfortable looking into people’s motives. I am more interested in their action. The action of the TPLF mafia group is that of a petty thief but on a national scale.
The issue in front of us is that the cadres are in the process of destroying our homeland. The question put to each and every one of us is what are you going to do about it? Yes, you what is your next move. You can sit in a coffee house or a family gathering and recount the many horror stories of TPLF and company. You can even blame the opposition for not uniting or for splitting into factions at a drop of a hat. Unfortunately that would not absolve you of your responsibilities. Why you want to shift responsibility unto others is strange. You still have not answered the question what are you doing about it? Fighting injustice takes many forms. We all are not cut out to be solders. What is asked of us is to contribute positively to liberate our homeland so we have some place to go at the end of the day.
What is universally clear is no masters have voluntarily let his slaves go, no colonialist have granted freedom without a fight, no dictator have vacated power without struggle. Ato Meles and his inner group have to be forced to see the dead end road they are traveling. It is not about rational discussion with irrational people. Their greed is their Achilles heel. Their perceived economic strength is their vulnerability. That is where we should concentrate our fire. We don’t have to bring them down. We just have to make them stagger and they will fall.
As Henry Thoreau said ‘there are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the roots…’ don’t tell me you are still hacking at the branches!
“No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end.” Thus spoke President Barack Obama last week to Africa’s tin-pot dictators using the Ghanaian parliament as a sounding board.
During the presidential campaign and over the past seven months, many Ethiopians had expressed uncertainty and apprehension about the future direction of U.S. foreign policy in Ethiopia. Some thought President Obama would continue the knee-jerk terror-centric policies of George Bush; other believed it would be the dawn of a new day in U.S. policy. We offered analyses which foretold the orientation of U.S. foreign policy in Ethiopia and Africa under an Obama administration.
The President’s speech in Accra was both a diagnosis of what ails Africa, particularly Ethiopia, and a set of remedial prescriptions. President Obama spoke disapprovingly of the divisive and outdated politics of tribalism and ethnicity which continues to poison the African body politics. He urged Africans to reconcile around their common humanity and Africanity. He spoke of the corrosive effects of corruption on the soul of Africa and urged good governance to restore hope in the spirit of the African people. He declared Africa’s future is up to Africans, but challenged Africa’s youth to mold and shape it.
The Poison of Tribalism and Ethnic Politics
President Obama blasted identity politics as a canker in the African body politics:
We all have many identities – of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st century…. In my father’s life, it was partly tribalism and patronage in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is a daily fact of life for far too many….
Few countries in Africa today are more afflicted and conflicted by the artificially engineered ethno-tribal virus than Ethiopia. Using a completely phony theory of “ethnic (tribal) federalism”, the dictators in Ethiopia have created what amounts to apartheid-style Bantustans or tribal homelands. They have segregated the Ethiopian people by ethno-tribal classification in grotesque regional political units called “kilils”. This sinister perversion of the concept of federalism has enabled a few cunning dictators to oppress, divide and rule some 80 million people for nearly two decades.
We have called them out on their divide-and-rule politics. We have repeatedly called upon them to tear down of the walls of tribalism and ethnicity. Our humanity, we asserted, is more important than our ethnicity, nationality, sovereignty or Africanity! We are not prisoners to be kept behind tribal walls, but free men and women who are captains of our future in one unwalled Ethiopia that belongs to all of us equally. We echo President Obama, and President Reagan from another era, when we call upon those who built the tribal walls to tear them down once again: “Zenawi, tear down the kilil tribal walls behind which you have kept our people locked up! Let them go before you go!”
The Fundamental Truth: Development Depends on Good Governance
President Obama said,
We must first recognize a fundamental truth that you have given life to in Ghana: development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long…
The dictators in Ethiopia have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are clueless about good governance; and their idea of development is ripping off the people to enrich their relatives and friends. “Concentrat[ion] of wealth in the hands of the few [that] leaves people too vulnerable to downturns” is not development.
Good governance is based on a set of objective measures. We subscribe to the 8 benchmark parameters of good governance set by the U.N.: Participation (men and women participate equally in political and civil society institutions); rule of law (an independent judiciary and impartial law enforcement agencies administer the justice system with strict adherence to the law of the land); transparency (public decisions are made and implemented according to established rules and regulations); responsiveness (public needs are met in a timely manner); consensus-building (the different interests of groups in society are harmonized in formulating policy); equity and inclusiveness (individuals and groups feel they have a stake in society and do not feel excluded); effectiveness and efficiency (scarce resources are used for maximum public benefit and service); accountability (leaders and institutions are accountable to the public and under law). In sum, good governance is to development as water is to a bountiful harvest. No water, no harvest!
Good Governance is Sustained by Respect for Human Rights
Just as development is based good governance, we believe respect for human rights is the sustaining force for good governance. Human rights principles provide a set of values to anchor and guide leaders, institutions and processes in serving the common good. Political action and reforms guided by principles enumerated in international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and conventions dealing with the rights of the child, elimination of discrimination based on gender and religion, and protection of economic, social and cultural rights and others, are central to the development of a fair and just society in Ethiopia.
The New Pillar of American Foreign Policy in Africa
President Obama announced that his administration’s policy in Africa will be guided by a simple principle: The U.S will provide support for the establishment of strong democratic governments, enhanced protections for human rights and assistance to victims of human rights violations, and efforts aimed at rooting out corruption in Africa. He said the U.S. will “sanction and stop those who” violate human rights:
First, we must support strong and sustainable democratic governments. Governments that respect the will of their own people are more prosperous, more stable and more successful than governments that do not. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves… In the 21st century, capable, reliable and transparent institutions are the key to success – strong parliaments and honest police forces; independent judges and journalists; a vibrant private sector and civil society. Those are the things that give life to democracy, because that is what matters in peoples’ lives….
In Moscow, I spoke of the need for an international system where the universal rights of human beings are respected, and violations of those rights are opposed. That must include a commitment to support those who resolve conflicts peacefully, to sanction and stop those who don’t, and to help those who have suffered.
The President made it clear that democracy is about outcomes such as “strong parliaments and honest police forces; independent judges and journalists; a vibrant private sector and civil society.” He disagrees with those who claim that “democracy is about process, it’s not about outcome… If the process is clean and you get zero, tough luck.”
“Brutality and bribery” are the engines of tyranny, the President asserted. Economic chaos packaged as a litany of “ten percent annual growth” is not development; and American taxpayers will not provide aid to support such “development”. In short, American support to African regimes will be contingent on the implementation of “concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting, automating services, strengthening hot lines and protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability, peaceful transfers of power, ending brutal repression, growth of civil society institutions, expansion of political space for civic participation and youth involvement.”
Africa’s Salvation Will Come Through Its Youth
President Obama knows that talking to African tin pot dictators is like pouring water on a slab of granite. There will be no penetration. The dictators will probably sit around in their echo chambers and lament the fact that the President is naïve about African politics and its complexities. The fact is that he is not only well informed on Africa, he is also fully prepared to deal with African dictators. After all, he cut his teeth on Chicago politics. In his eloquent and artful way, the President told the African dictators that they are not only decidedly on the wrong side of history, but also that they are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things:
Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans and not with those who use coups or change Constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions….
We have learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa’s future. Instead, it will be you – the men and women in Ghana’s Parliament, and the people you represent. Above all, it will be the young people – brimming with talent and energy and hope…
And I am particularly speaking to the young people. In places like Ghana, you make up over half of the population. Here is what you must know: the world will be what you make of it. You have the power to hold your leaders accountable and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, end conflicts and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can.”
The role of youth in Ethiopia’s future deserves special attention. It is manifest that the dictators today have little interest in developing Ethiopia’s youth to “hold leaders accountable and build institutions that serve the people.” The dictators aim to mobilize, ideologize and “harness the energy of Ethiopian youth” to create armies of androids that will serve them obsequiously. They understand Hitler’s maxim: “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.” For this reason, it is instructive to watch the video of the recently stage-managed youth conference of the dictators available on ethiotube.net.
While the dictators abuse the youth, the opposition and the older generation has largely ignored them. Truth be told, we have done a poor job of preparing Ethiopian youth for their historic role in rebuilding and reorganizing the new Ethiopian society. We have become less than inspiring role models by our inability to set good examples of tolerance, harmony and collaboration. We have done little to teach the youth of our mistakes so that they will not repeat them. We have offered them little clarity to remove their confusion and uncertainties. We have failed to empower them in defending human rights. The dictators hold “conferences” to steal the souls of Ethiopian youth. What have we done to harness their idealism to serve their country and people? What have we done to inspire their minds, free their spirits and fortify their hearts in the historic task of reconstructing a new Ethiopia unburdened by tribalism, sectarianism, sexism and corruption?
The president is absolutely right. Africa’s, and Ethiopia’s, future will be shaped by its youth. The sooner we, who profess our faith in freedom, democracy and human rights, realize and own up to this irrefutable fact and begin helping them, the sooner will come Africa’s salvation. Young Ethiopians need good role models. Let each one of us strive to be one, for in the end the future belongs to them.
We should not expect quick results from the President’s speech. We must understand that the Obama administration does not have all of its Africa hands on deck; and the President is preoccupied with many domestic issues. Suffice it to say to African dictators that Barack Obama is not George Bush.
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[1] http://www.ethiomedia.com/all/6070.html ; http://www.abugidainfo.com/?p=8693
[2] http://www.abugidainfo.com/?p=5513
The writer, Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney based in Los Angeles. For comments, he can be reached at [email protected]
Dear Ato Meles, I have been following your interviews with the foreign media the last few months. I have no idea why you prefer to discuss matters regarding our country with the foreign press. One would think that it would be better to discuss your plans, dreams and musings with the Ethiopian people rather than blabber with foreign journalists who a) are not well informed about the country b) do not give a figs leaf what you a Prime Minister of one of the poorest country have to say and bury the story on page ten beside the obituaries forcing us to dig deep so we the concerned can publish it on page one.
To say I am always baffled after reading or listening to your interviews is putting it mildly. You always seem to have a different take on the situation in the country. The facts on the ground do not seem to support the conclusions you reach. Have you thought of any reason why that is so?
I know it is presumptuous of me to comment on the matter and I humbly ask your Excellency to indulge me in this little exercise to set the record straight. First and foremost I want you to know that I wholly understand that when one is isolated from normal everyday human contact one develops certain ideas and beliefs not grounded in fact or truth. From what I understand you have been residing at your current address since 1991. Shall we just say Arat Kilo is an awe-inspiring location?
I did not have the privilege of visiting the inside but I am sure it is very luxurious. It must have beautiful hardwood floors in the dining rooms, Italian tiles in bath bathrooms, thick Persian or Afghan rugs and carpets in the bed rooms, long Mahogany dining room tables with beautiful chandlers and real crystal lights everywhere, oh let us just say opulent. I hope the previous tenant did not remove some of the expensive items. He left in a little bit of a hurry so may be he did not have time to loot. I know for a fact that you have turned the place into a modern fortress since you moved in. It is highly possible the so-called Green Zone in Iraq was a copy of Arat Kilo.
The move from ‘meda’ to palace must have been most jarring to say the least. Unless handled carefully such a move can cause a lot of anxiety and delusion. Believe me it is normal. Here in the US we witness that all the time. Most athletes from the inner cities are prone to that. The idea of jumping from public housing one bedroom apartment to signing a multi-million-dollar contract has been blamed for plenty of meltdowns.
It is fair to say it has been over eighteen years since you have found yourself in the company of ordinary people discussing ordinary issues as an equal. You have managed to get rid of a majority of the people who know you as Legesse. Some have died under peculiar circumstances, you have jailed quite a few, some have been exiled to far away places and some have resigned before you got to them. That leaves the few that have accepted their location on the bottom of the totem pole. Those are the sycophants. The yes men, the flatters. There is no one in the vicinity that is able to correct you when you are wrong, advise you when you err or set you straight when you digress.
I believe that explains the many false statements you seem to utter to the complete disbelief of your country’s people. As I said before this little note is to help you see the other side of the story. It is an attempt to show you a different perspective so you know that there is another reality outside of Arat Kilo.
I will start with your recent interview with the Financial Times of London on June 23. A lot of UN true stuff was said. I will not bother with most of your answers except the one dealing with the free press.
FT: All these events have contributed to an atmosphere where people do not feel free to speak.
MZ: Have you read the local newspapers? Do they mince their words about government …
You see my problem here? What local newspaper are you talking about? Isn’t it true that after the 2005 elections you have managed to destroy the free press? Didn’t your government enact new legislation to strangle the press? For your information you own the single television transmitter, you won the single short wave radio transmitter and you own the telecommunication department. There is no free press in Ethiopia. There are a few that are struggling with a loaded gun held to their temple. Somehow they manage to publish. You really do not think that we consider ‘The Ethiopian Reporter’ as an example of free press do you? We know it is there to give legitimacy to your regime. Nothing more.
In August of 2008 you told your Parliament “In general, we don’t expect drastic effects on our economy, our financial structure is not as liberalized as those of affected countries and the economy is not intertwined to Western economies to face a crisis” Do you want to revise that assertion? Do you see now that our country is not an island? Why were you unable to see that the single crop Ethiopia has been peddling before you were born is going to be affected by world economy slow down? How come you did not know the double digit economic growth you have been shouting about is the result of misguided and selfish Ethiopians in the Diaspora investing in your real estate ponzi scheme and remittances are going to dry up?
Since the debacle of the 2005 election your National Bank has been printing Bir as if it is going out of style. What made you think this kind of irresponsible economic scheme will not result in inflation? I know you have to increase the money supply to keep up with the ever-increasing demand of the military, Kebele officials, public security personnel and various Kilil dogs you have to appease. Your government is the number one employer in the country. So now we are faced with both devaluation and inflation. Are you aware that you have to devalue the Bir by another 20%? Are we going to do five percent here nine percent there or are we going to swallow the bitter medicine all at once and get it over with? Inflation dipping to single digit…when pigs fly.
You have been titillating us with this talk of quitting why is that? This is what you told Financial Times:
FT: Why is it that Ethiopians don’t really believe you could go?
MZ: Because it has not been done in the past in Ethiopia.
FT: But this is a precedent you would like to set?
MZ: This is a precedent that I would almost kill to set.
Very dramatic indeed. Believe me you can purchase a ticket from your local TPLF kiosk and fly away and no one will care. Killing, beating and maiming is an obsession with you TPLF folks. There is no need to kill anybody, but if you have to kill may we suggest one of your comrades. On the other hand there are a few unsettled businesses between the Ethiopian people in general and you and your TPLF cadres in particular. The massacre in the aftermath of the 2005 elections is in the forefront. I believe Judge Wolde Michael Meshesha would like to interview you about that without the presence of your armed goons. There are also a lot of families that want closure and justice done. There is also the murder of Professor Asrat, Assefa Maru and god knows how many more to be dealt with. You really do not think all will be swept under the rug do you? We don’t care what Ledetu have promised you but it will not work.
When you say your party have to agree what exactly does that mean? Are they asking for blanket forgiveness for all crimes committed the last eighteen years? Are they demanding Parliamentary resolution to that effect? Are they threatening you in anyway, something like we all go together or we stay put? Most of you in the politburo are exposed to criminal charges whereas the rank and file is afraid of economic meltdown. It must be difficult to explain how one becomes a multi millionaire in a mere fifteen years. Is this the discussion inside the TPLF? We know for a fact that those ‘teletafis’ or pretend party’s are unsettled about this talk of you leaving them high and dry to face the music. They never thought the end was coming. Do you stay awake all night thinking about all these unpleasant matters? Do you think you are clever and you will manage to squeeze out of this predicament you find yourself in?
They say hindsight is one hundred percent, do you look back and think may be you should have exited peacefully in 2005? What did all that killing bring you except a few million more and universal condemnation? Are you improvising as you go along or do you really have a plan for what is about to happen tomorrow?
The world has changed a lot since 2005. The hate level of the Ethiopian people against your TPLF cadres has skyrocketed, the economy has tanked and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Creating ethnic tension has become too obvious, terrorism is so yesterday it has been devalued more than your Bir and your loyal dogs are lined up by the exit door (check out your Communications Minister who is getting ready to spill his guts on Addis Voice, VOA or DW radio) If I were you I will assign loyal cadres to watch Addisu, Dula, Kumsa, Azeb and Kasu Ilala. Betrayal is second nature in your sorry outfit.
So you said you want to retire in peace and rest. Well let me tell you what the opposition have in store for the future of our country upon your departure to Kaliti. Here are the top ten:
· Truth and reconciliation committee will be set up. Citizens will be encouraged to file grievances.
· New Constitution will be written after extensive discussion and debate.
· Kilils will be abolished.
· Land belongs to the individual not the government will be the law.
· All confiscated property will be returned to the lawful owners.
· Television, radio, newspaper, Internet and telephone service will be in private hands.
· All bank account, property and assets of former officials will be frozen awaiting certification of how it was amassed.
· All international agreements and deals made by the TPLF government will be subject to review.
· The millions of Ethiopians in the Diaspora will be encouraged to return home and participate in building the motherland. When we say contribute it is not bars or nightclubs but farming, industry and other productive enterprises.
· That ugly symbol you affixed will be removed from our flag never ever to be seen again.
I know all the foreign press has been asking you about the increasing repression, your hasty departure from Somalia, the drying up of foreign reserve and now the lack of electricity in 2009. No one seems to have any thing good to say about your regime. Judge Bertukan’s star is shining bright from behind bars. Your feeble attempts to rub shoulders with democratically elected leaders have only brought you further humiliation. Brave leaders face the consequences of their actions head on and either apologize to their people or take the Japanese way out you know what I mean. Which one would it be? Riding peacefully into the sunset is out of the question!
Profiles in Courage 2009: Power to the Women of Iran!
Even President Obama could not contain his admiration for Iranian women who marched shoulder to shoulder alongside Iranian men armed with rocks to protest the recent fraud-riddled elections. After seeing Iranian women deflect militiamen batons and dodge tear gas canisters, the President observed: “We have seen courageous women stand up to brutality and threats, and we have experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets.” Many others who observed the extraordinary courage of Iranian women in the protests openly wondered if the world was witnessing “the first female led revolution in modern history.” Shirin Ebadi, Iran’s first woman and only Nobel laureate, explained that Iranian women were so intensely engaged in the protests “because [they] are the most dissatisfied people in society, that is why their presence is more prominent.” Undaunted, Iran’s theocratic regime viciously clamped down on the defiant women protesters by jailing hundreds of them.
But could the ayatollahs permanently silence Iranian women?
Flashback 2005
Watching the grainy cell phone videos of the Iranian protests online, I had a flashback of the bloody massacres following the 2005 Ethiopian elections. Troops loyal to the current dictatorship shot and killed, by official Inquiry Commission account, 193 men, women and children in the streets, and wounded 763. Over 30,000 were documented to have been imprisoned because of election-related issues. (The real figures of the dead and wounded by non-official accounts exceeded sixfold the documented numbers.) Like young Neda Agha-Soltan whose murder by an Iranian militiaman was captured on a cellphone video, ShiBre Desalegn, a young woman barely in her twenties, was executed in broad daylight by a member of the dictators’ death squad to the horror of her friends. Like Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and a judge who was imprisoned for her human rights work, Birtukan Midekssa was literally scooped off the street by armed thugs to serve out a life sentence.
But did the dictators succeed in silencing Ethiopian women by locking up Birtukan in solitary confinement?
The Silence of Our Sister Birtukan
Birtukan Mideksa has been caged in solitary confinement at Kality prison for over six months now. The dictators have imprisoned her body, but not her voice. She is officially prohibited from having any human contact, except her aging mother and four year old daughter. It is part of the dictators’ crude method of torture by extreme isolation and oppressive silence. Though Birtukan’s captors think (and wish) that they have forever silenced her, they have not. Birtukan speaks louder today than she has ever spoken. Her illegal imprisonment speaks thunderously of the absence of the rule of law in Ethiopia and the arbitrary rule of a hardened human rights outlaw. Her solitary confinement speaks loudly of the forgotten hundreds of thousands of innocent people rotting in the dictators’ prisons and secret jails. Her courage to stand up to the most cunning, calculating, vicious and ruthless dictators in modern times speaks volumes of one woman’s steely determination to bring democracy to a land sweltering under corruption and abuse of power. Her rise from a modest background to national leadership speaks of the dawn of a new day in Ethiopia where women can stand up against dictatorship on their own in defense of democracy, freedom and human rights. Birtukan’s commitment to Ethiopian unity and the oneness of its people speaks of her unwaivering patriotism and love of all her people. Her calm temperament and thoughtful words speak of a leader who is centered and has peace of mind. Her tenacity never to stand down in a male-dominated society speaks of the infinite potential of Ethiopian women to change and lead Ethiopia into a new day. Her testimony (Q’ale) before her street abduction by official thugs transcends mere speech. It is the sublime poetry of innocence and truth.
Our sister Birtukan is not silent, even while she is caged in solitary confinement. The question is whether we have been rendered deaf-mute to her voice and message by our indifference, apathy and timidity.
The Deafening Silence of Birtukan’s Sisters
I must, with the greatest reluctance, point a finger at many our sisters who are living in the West for maintaining what appears to be a vow of silence concerning Birtukan’s imprisonment in solitary confinement. I don’t mean this as an accusation because I do not doubt for a second that the overwhelming majority of women in Ethiopia and outside sympathize deeply with Birtukan’s plight. I believe they feel and share her pain more deeply because, unlike most men, they have a keen understanding and appreciation of her sacrifices. They understand the agony and heartbreak of a single mother languishing in prison for her beliefs while leaving her four year-old daughter with an aging mother to raise. They understand how a woman who has achieved great professional distinction could be driven to sacrifice everything so that her four year old daughter could have a better future in Ethiopia. I believe Ethiopian women have a deeper understanding of the frustrations of living in a male-dominated society that affords little opportunity for leadership to women, a subject that has been critically examined by various scholars.[1]
There are also many things that I find difficult to understand: Why is it that in the last one hundred years Ethiopia has not had a female leader of national significance? What is it about the Ethiopian political culture that discourages and holds back women from active and equal participation in politics? “Why is it that educated Ethiopian women cannot break the chains of ancient subordination and exclusion?” Frankly, I am puzzled by the disquieting silence of Ethiopian women. I keep asking the same questions over and over. Whey aren’t Ethiopian women championing the virtuous cause of Ethiopia’s foremost political prisoner? Why aren’t the young women mobilizing to free one of their own from the dungeons of Kality prison? Why is it that Ethiopian women seem unable to forge alliances with women throughout the world to work in the cause of Birtukan and political prisoners?
The Untapped Power of Ethiopian Women
Birtukan’s debut following the 2005 elections is historic in its magnitude. Following two years of imprisonment, Birtukan emerged as the symbol of the new Ethiopian woman who is willing, able and ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ethiopian men and suffer the withering blows of dictatorship (including a life sentence) to defend democracy and the rule of law. By doing so, Birtukan transcended the politics of her time and brought forth the audacity of the new Ethiopian woman. She is really about the future of Ethiopian society where women in large numbers will work in full equality with men to build a new society based on the rule of law and free of ethnic hatred. The greatest threat the dictators see in Birtukan is not that she can lead a political party to victory. They know that will never happen because she can never win their rigged elections. What they fear and dread them most is that Birtukan’s success as a national leader, even symbolically, means the end of the dictator’s ethnic politics, ethnic division and ethnic federalism. Birtukan symbolizes the oneness of the Ethiopian people, their unity and collective destiny of greatness. She has the capacity, tenacity and proven ability to rise above ethnicity and bring all of the people in the bond of common unity.
As I saw cell phone video footage of Iranian women clashing with police, being tear gassed and beaten, and witnessed the horrific murder of Neda, I could visualize the untapped power of Ethiopian women not only to help free Birtukan and all political prisoners in Ethiopia, but also to become unstoppable agents of social change. I was inspired by the fact that leading Iranian women launched A Campaign for One Million Signatures to change the discriminatory legal codes of Iran. I was energized by the fact that the theocratic rulers of Iran were unable to silence Iranian women by beating and jailing them, shutting down newspapers and websites that publicized their activism, protests and small acts of rebellion. The Iranian women could not be silenced. I felt that if Iranian women by the hundreds of thousands could stand up for their rights and openly demand reform, Ethiopian women could, at a minimum, organize and demand the release of Birtukan and all other political prisoners in Ethiopia.
This is the Time!
This is the time for all good Ethiopian women (and men) to come to the aid of Birtukan and all political prisoners in Ethiopia. This is the time to speak up on behalf of Birtukan and against her ruthless captors. This is the time to launch a Million Signature Campaign throughout the world to free Birtukan and all political prisoners in Ethiopia, and to deploy the worldwide power of women to the cause of freedom, democracy, human rights: Women legislators, governors, judges, lawyers and law students, college and high school students, human rights advocates, corporate and civic society leaders, teachers and university professors, religious leaders, journalists, physicians, scientists, engineers, service workers and others.
This is the time for Ethiopian women to lead and for the men to follow. This is the time to say, “Behind every great Ethiopian woman is a good man.” It took one woman, Birtukan, to strike fear in the hearts of the ruthless dictators who sought to silence her by solitary confinement. One can only imagine what millions of Ethiopian women could do to shatter the corrupt and barbarous dictatorship. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” What say YOU, my sisters?
[1] http://jds.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/24/2/125.pdf
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The writer, Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney based in Los Angeles. For comments, he can be reached at [email protected]
It is celebration time for Ethiopians outside their homeland especially for those in the democratic West. The recession has been brutal on immigrants more so on those that are in the service sector. We have learned to be resilient. We bend but we do not break. Most of all we are emboldened when we see success. We are made to believe that with hard work, determination and a free democratic system anything is possible. And when our brethren excel in life we are filled with such pride that it becomes the talk of the town.
I am talking about our pride Alfa Demmellash. Weizero Alfa Demmellash and her husband run “the Community Business Academy, an intensive training session coupled with year-round coaching and mentorship to help individuals “really work on the hands-on management side of their business,” Weizero Alfa and her organization Rising Tide Capital were highlighted by the White Hose as an non profit program that are making a difference.
President Obama was gracious enough to single out Alfa and recognize her. The reporter wrote “Mr. Obama pointed out Demmelash to the crowd with his trademark self-deprecating humor: “We’ve got Alfa Demmellash from Rising Tide Capital … where’s Alfa … right over there. Did I pronounce your name right? Good. When your name’s Barack Obama, you’re sensitive to these things.”
Then there is Meheret Mandefro. Dr. Meheret was appointed as a White House Fellows for 2009-2010. The program was set to “give promising American leaders first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal government, and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs. The Fellows also take part in an education program designed to broaden their knowledge of leadership, policy formulation, military, and current affairs.” My friend Missy Dr. Meheret’s cousin said the whole family is beyond happy and proud. We are all proud.
There is also the Ethiopian scientist Dr.Gebisa Ejeta who won the 2009 World Food Prize given by the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Gebisa is a product of Jimma Agricultural and Technical School and beautiful Alemya Agricultural College.
When you include the thousands of Graduates all over the world you can say June is a beautiful month. Our achievers shone bright in a sky full of stars. To be recognized for your best efforts is the ultimate reward. Our heroes displayed our Ethiopia in all its glory. I am so tired of the adjectives that accompany the mention of our country. It is always the poorest, the hungriest, the civil war addicted, democracy challenged or such putdown. Alfa, Dr Mehret and Dr. Gebisa are showing us what is possible when you are allowed to soar like an Eagle.
Now contrast that from what is coming out of our homeland and you know why we despair. Nothing good has come out of there for a long time. It is famine time again. The ‘US Famine Early Warning Systems Network’ (FEWS NET) is ringing the warning bell loud for all to hear. They wrote ‘Ethiopia continues to face high levels of food insecurity. A total of 7.5 million chronically food insecure people receive assistance through employment in public works under the productive safety-Net Program (PSNP. An additional 4.9 million people require emergency food assistance through June 2009.’
“The rainy season will start late particularly in the northeastern part of our country. That means the cropping season for some types of crops may not be appropriate this year.” So declared the Prime Minster from his palace. I always thought he fancied himself as an economist, I guess he is a meteorologist too. Dare I say ‘knows everything about nothing’ is an apt description.
As for the alarm regarding the food shortage Ato Meles said “We have hundreds of thousands of tons of wheat in our store houses here in Ethiopia.” Both World Food Program (WFP) and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) agree the situation is cause for alarm. They have asked the government to release 11,000 tons. The government denies the existence of the problem. The question is who is not telling the truth? Who benefits from spreading false hood? The two organizations have no reason to lie. Food is an expensive commodity and it is in short supply and they are doing their best to get a fair share for our people. They are doing the government’s job. Suffice to say if we were self-sufficient they wouldn’t be there.
Due to congestion at Djibouti Port the food they have begged on our behalf will not reach those in need. The Ethiopian Government has given priority to transport fertilizer instead of food. In his own words Ato Meles said “We have given priority to the transportation of fertilizers because we need fertilizers now. If [WFP] is facing any problem in terms of transport… go to these [strategic reserve] warehouses and take out loans to be replenished later when their food in the port is transported to the country.” So WFP borrows from Ethiopian reserves to feed Ethiopians and they will pay it back when “their” food arrives. The key word here is “their food”. The Ethiopian government takes no responsibility for its own people. On the other hand would you say it is a better choice to use military trucks to ferry needed food or ferry solders to invade a neighbor?
There is more. Instead of dealing with famine, high inflation, drying up of capital and dwindling remittance the fearless regime wastes its precious time in drafting draconian laws to muzzle the right of its citizens. They have what is called ‘draft counter terrorism law’ ready to be rubber-stamped by the kangaroo parliament. The terrorist regime is concerned about terrorism. The mighty TPLF with all its Generals, Internal Security, Federal Police, Agazi special Force, and paid informer around every corner is afraid of terrorism. Meles has created a perfect catch-22.
Catch-22 is a satirical novel by Joseph Heller. It has entered everyday usage to mean a ‘no-win’ situation. It is like you are damned if you do and you are damned if you don’t. In Heller’s book the main protagonist named Yossarian an Air Force pilot is trying to get discharged by claiming insanity. Unfortunate for him he there is a little rule called Catch-22. Yossarian, by claiming he is insane, he is proving that he is sane. Catch-22 specifies that a concern for one’s safety is the work of a rational mind. Catch-22 has come to mean ‘any paradoxical, circular reasoning that catches its victim in its illogic and serves those who have made the law.’ That is Ethiopian law in a nutshell.
Ato Meles’s currently proposed so-called ‘counter terrorism law’ is a perfect example of catch-22. It is heads Meles wins and tails Ethiopia loses. No matter how the coin lands the outcome is the same for Meles and company. On one hand the ‘Constitution’ gives the citizen the right to peaceful assembly, peaceful protest and peaceful gathering (Article 30) on the other hand the new law criminalizes public gatherings or public protest as ‘disruption or interference of a public service’ to be a terrorist act. A peaceful protest that will ‘hinder the normal flow of traffic’ can be defined as a terrorist act by the authorities. The TPLF state will be the prosecutor, the jury and the judge all at the same time.
It is time we empower ourselves. Up to now we have been acting as enablers. Victim forever is not cool. Alfa, Dr Mehret and Dr. Gebisa have empowered themselves. They are showing us by example that hard work, dedication, resolve and empathy for fellow human does wonders. True empowerment is developing confidence in ones own capacity. It is not whether the US government will withhold support from the apartheid government or not, it is not whether Ato Meles will retire or not. It is about what you do to empower yourself. For a change it is all about you. Step forward and take responsibility.
Ato Meles is caught in his own catch-22. He can’t leave nor can he stay. He has created his own paradox. All this bravado regarding two more years, pointing out future heirs, and dumping it on phantom EPDRF is nothing but the last gasps of an expiring model. It did not work for Shah of Iran, Ferdinand Marcos, Mobutu sese Seko, Nicolae Ceausescu, Augusto Pinochet or Alberto Fujimori. There is no reason to think it is going to work in 2009. There are several ways to get out of a predicament or self-inflicted wound. But it is not by passing useless laws that can be overturned before the ink dries or by imprisoning and exiling opponents. That is a dead end street.
Judge Bertukan Mideksa has been in TPLF prison for one hundred eighty five days. She is in a dark cold room because we are silent here. We are a well-informed people thanks to our free websites. They are doing an excellent job of exposing the illegal acts of our UN elected leaders. Knowledge should be translated into action. Alfa, Dr Mehret and Dr. Gebisa did not acquire all that knowledge for heck of it. They are using their knowledge to make a difference. Shouldn’t we follow the example of these Ethiopian giants and double our efforts to liberate our country? Please do not lament about yesterday’s inaction. Today is what matters. What we do today lays the foundation for a better tomorrow. We can do it!
George Orwell may have understated the situation in the Big Brother totalitarian state of Nineteen Eighty Four: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” He would be amused to learn that in the police state of Two Thousand and Nine Ethiopia, Big Brother has been unceremoniously replaced by THE P-R-O-C-E-S-S!
Jason McClure of Bloomberg News reported last week the capo dictator in Ethiopia had declared that “there is ‘zero’ chance that opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa will be released from prison in time to compete in the elections scheduled for next May. He also said Birtukan’s jailing is not a pretext to eliminate political opposition… The prime minister also defended local elections last year, in which opposition candidates won just three of 3.6 million seats, saying that ‘democracy is about process, it’s not about outcome… If the process is clean and you get zero, tough luck.’” (Italics added.)
Aha! “It’s About Process, Not Outcome!”
It is about process, not outcome. In other words, it is about smoke and mirrors, window dressing. It’s about putting on a show, going through the motions. Democratic elections have nothing to do with the outcome of legitimately elected leaders. They are about the process of putting on a three-ring elections circus so that people can go through the motions of voting for “leaders” who have already been pre-selected and elected for them. By the same token, courts are not about the outcome of impartial administration of justice. They are about manipulating the legal process to serve Just Us. Trials have nothing to do with the outcome of due process, which is truth-finding based on established legal principles, vindicating the innocent and convicting the guilty, or serving the ends of justice. They are about the process of putting on a kangaroo court show to convict the innocent, exonerate the guilty and exalt criminals. Governance is not about the outcome of informed decision-making, practicing the rule of law, effective delivery of public services, accountability, transparency, legitimacy and the rest of it. It is about the exquisite process of clinging to power like blood-sucking ticks on a cow. A constitution is not about the outcome of establishing and permanently securing the rule of law so that citizens are protected from arbitrary and abusive use of government power. It is about the process of ensuring the rule of an outlaw who trashes every known human rights law. Parliaments are not about the outcome of formulating sound laws and public policies in a deliberative legislative forum. They are about the process of rubberstamping the delusions and fantasies of a dictator. Federalism is not about the outcome of a clear division of constitutional power between a national government and constituent political units. It is about setting up a fictitious process called “ethnic federalism” for the purpose of creating deep ethnic, cultural, linguistic and regional cleavages to facilitate dictatorial rule. It is all about The P-R-O-C-E-S-S, stupid! If you haven’t got it by now “tough luck!”
From Doublethink, Doublespeak to Zerothink, Zerospeak
The age of Big Brother and the dark Orwellian future has been replaced in the brave new Ethiopia of the 21st Century by the age of the Big Processor who communicates through zerothink and zerospeak. It is no longer that “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” For zerothinkers and zerospeakers, the outcome of war that people die or suffer and entire communities are laid to waste is unimportant. What is important is the process of using war to extort economic and military aid from donors to cling to power indefinitely (in zerothink, that would be “forever and ever”). In zerothink, it is not about freedom or slavery. It is certainly not about the outcome of human freedom, which is free thought, free expression, free association, free press, free elections and so on. It is about the process of using the idea of freedom to justify tyranny and brutality, and to hoodwink the rest of the world into believing that dictatorship is the only path to freedom. In zerothink, it is not that ignorance is strength; it is about the planned process of creating and maintaining a nation of ignoramuses by denying them free expression, sound education and a forum for a free exchange of ideas. It is about keeping the population weak, confused, divided and domesticated. It is about the process of locking up the population in the proverbial Tower of Babel where no one speaks the same language or understands each other. In the brave new Ethiopia of zerothink and zero speak, it is all about processing: Central processing of lies; micro-processing of corruption, digital processing of propaganda; physical processing of opponents into torture chambers; network processing among nouveau riche supporters; co-processing of fear and loathing and re-processing of rigged and stolen elections. It is all about using The P-R-O-C-E-S-S to control, pacify and subjugate the population.
But one day, it will all be about service of process!
Zerothink and the Zero Sum Game Process
In the social sciences, scholars use “game theory” to understand the behavior of individuals in strategic situations in which one individual’s success in making choices depends on the choices and actions of others. In a zero-sum game, one person will lose and one person will win. The win (+1) added to the loss (-1) equals zero.
The capo dictator’s statement on the primacy of process over outcome provides a unique window into a particular zero sum game player mindset. The game strategy for the dictators is to ensure that opposition or rival elements always lose while they always win. The dictators have been playing such a zero sum political game in Ethiopia for nearly two decades. As the dictator glibly quipped, “democracy is about process, it’s not about outcome…If the process is clean and you get zero, tough luck.” For two decades, the people of Ethiopia have been forced to play a zero sum game of “process democracy” (or make-believe democracy) and have accumulated a grand total score of zero. The winning formula for the zero sum “elections process” has been finely tuned: Announce a date for “elections” with great fanfare. Set up a process for make- believe elections. Hand select and pre-elect your candidates. Scandalize and demonize your political opponents and rivals. Let people think their votes count. Declare victory before the votes are counted. Announce to the world that “opposition candidates won just three of 3.6 million seats.”
There is a better way. It is a non zero sum game based on a “win-win” strategy in which each side can gain and minimize losses through a process of bargaining, negotiation, compromise and conciliation. The dictators seem to be incapable of understanding or playing a non zero sum game. That is because they perceive the larger society as their enemy while sitting and fretting in their echo chamber of intrigue. They see any one else winning in any matter small or big (political or economic) as a devastating loss to them. They have a mindset of losers. So the real problem is the zero-sum mindset of the dictators. They must undergo a change in mindset and overcome the belief and conviction deeply ingrained in their collective psyche that political opponents committed to democratic principles are not mortal enemies, merely competitors for votes.
In a real democracy, winning and losing for political parties and candidates is the natural order of things. You win some, you lose some. The winners and losers are determined by the people who cast their votes freely, without intimidation, extortion, threats, vote rigging or other fraudulent electoral practices. Losing an election the old fashioned way (through free and fair elections) is not the end of the world in a real democracy; it is merely the stepping stone to the next round of electoral contests. The fact remains that as long as the dictators remain prisoners in their echo chambers of intrigue chained to a zero sum mindset of fear and loathing, there can be no real political change; only missed opportunities. It is conceivable that a few in the dictator’s inner circle understand that the only way they can find the peace of mind and accord with others that has eluded them for nearly two decades is by embracing a multi-party democratic system where rivals are not perceived as enemies but potential partners in a dynamically evolving and shifting competitive political process.
On the other hand, even the most skilled strategic zero sum game players expect perpetual losers to win one day, and win big. What happens then? What happens when the tables are turned and the dictators find themselves on the receiving end? (Admittedly, this question sounds silly to anyone sitting in an invincible echo chamber fortress, but suppose that were so, for the sake of argument.) Indeed, in a zero sum game, the short-term loser may be the winner in the long term by learning to develop skills useful in creating “win-win” situations where through compromise, negotiation and conciliation higher level political and social objectives could be attained. Real democracy is not a zero sum game process. It is a political outcome based on a non zero sum game model. It is not necessary for all to lose and one party to win all the time. It is possible to pursue strategies that produce “win-win” results for everyone. But that is the strategy of the hero.
Hero vs Zero
We are told there is “zero” chance that our heroine, Birtukan Mideksa, “will be released from prison in time to compete in the elections scheduled for next May.” (Translation in zerospeak: “Birtukan is enjoying herself at the exotic, all-inclusive vacation club known as the Kality Resorts, and is unavailable for the mundane business of running for office.” But the fact of the matter is that Birtukan is not interested in participating in an election P-R-O-C-E-S-S. She is not interested in an election process in which the outcome is predetermined now, a year before it is held. She wants no part of an election process where 3 (three) opposition candidates win from among 3.6 million candidates fielded by the dictator’s party. She would rather tough it out with her “tough luck”. Our hero does not want to be part of a zero-sum election process. Truth be told, even in a zero sum game, zero plus zeros equal to zero, not hero!
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The writer, Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney based in Los Angeles. For comments, he can be reached at [email protected]
