As people, Ethiopians do not lack a history of courage and {www:resilienc}y or a culture of collaboration and mutual tolerance. This is how generations of Ethiopians fought side by side, sacrificed their lives and properties, and preserved a remarkable country with extraordinary values, traditions and diverse people. This is how Ethiopia became a beacon of independence for all people of African origin and beyond while most of the so called third world was under the yoke of colonialism. Just take a look at the flags of numerous African countries and reflect on the meaning of independence and the heritage Ethiopians passed on to their African sisters and brothers. The flag had meaning then and now.
This proud heritage does not belong to one or two ethnic or nationality groups. It belongs to all Ethiopians. Our willingness and readiness to set aside differences and accept our individual and collective identity as Ethiopians are fundamental for the advancement of freedom, equality of opportunity, unity in diversity, political pluralism and shared prosperity. If we do not bury our political and ideological or tribal differences and move and support the Ethiopian people, we have no one to blame but ourselves, both as individuals and as groups, especially as elites. Accordingly, we must reject any and all political orientations that divide us, and our diverse population who share a common future and shared destiny. Our division is the lead source of our weakness.
In this connection, I believe that the now and the future are more critical than the gyrations and {www:tribulation}s of history through which other peoples around the globe have gone through. Ethiopia and Ethiopians must not be treated differently. There is no country in the world that has not gone through ‘bloody’ national formations. Those of us who live in the United States ought to know this. America was not formed through a bloodless coup. Nor was Italy, Germany, China, Russia, Ghana or the rest.
As a country, Ethiopia is not poor. It is potentially rich; but has been ruled by a succession of brutal dictatorships, the current one being the most exclusive, greediest, discriminatory and oppressive. Just take a look at the statistics concerning the gaps in incomes and wealth and you will see that uneven development and inequality are among the worst in the country’s history. Ethiopia possesses all of the {www:prerequisite}s to make poverty history: ample arable lands and water resources, minerals, human capital and knowledge, strategic location, even financial resources. Yet, it is among the poorest countries in the world. It cannot feed itself. It is heavily dependent on foreign aid and the provisions of humanitarian aid to feed millions. Hyperinflation is among the worst in the world. The educated and uneducated, the middle class and students, the poor and the unemployed are unable to feed themselves. Those who were able to purchase food and feed their families 30 to 40 years ago are unable to cope with scarcity and daily price {www:escalation} today. Inflated growth rates have yet to make substantial dents on people’s lives. Ethiopia is still poor.
The governing party’s economic policy is heavily politicized and defines who eats and who does not; who purchases homes and who does not; who gets health care and who does not and so on. The one party state is the judge, jury and executioner in all aspects of social, economic and political life. This reality calls for a substantial paradigm shift in our individual and collective thinking towards greater collaboration and unity of purpose. Not next year; but today.
The country’s most recent history is not void of popular determination to change for the better, and to establish a firm foundation to achieve human dignity, political pluralism and sustainable and equitable development. In 2005, millions of Ethiopians showed national-level determination in asserting their inalienable democratic rights as people, in defining and controlling their destiny, and in shaping the future of their country. That year established the equivalent of an Ethiopian “Arab Spring” whose promises were not fulfilled. We saw that other countries that were not anywhere close are now on the verge of establishing durable institutions that guarantee human freedom as well as sustainable and equitable development in the decades to come.
At the start of October 2011, President Obama welcomed the rapid transformation in Tunisia and vowed to assist this evolving democracy in North Africa. “Tunisia has been an inspiration to all of us who believe that each individual man and woman has certain {www:inalienable} rights, and those rights must be recognized by a government that is responsible and democratic.” Tunisians would not have achieved this remarkable transition to democracy if they did not place singular emphasis on a unity of purpose.
Opposition groups know that the TPLF/EPRDF government does not recognize fundamental democratic provisions contained in its own Constitution. “Inalienable rights” of men and women, children and youth are alien to its political, social and economic dogma. Why do opposition parties remain as divided as ever then? What is the lead reason? It is lack of wisdom in leadership that fails to place the greater or common good above partisan, individual and group interest. The outdated political culture of ‘worshiping’ organizations over commitment to the interests of the Ethiopian people, and of the country must end. Organizations are irrelevant if they do not respond to real human needs.
The political organizational and leadership gap at the national level that persists since 2005 haunts the society, including the two million members of the Diaspora. Part of this trauma revolves around the Ethiopian elite tendency to ‘worship’ organizations and individual heroes over country and unity of purpose; individualism over community and team work; personal ego over the willingness and capacity to resolve issues in a detached manner. Why? Self and group interest is among the reasons why. The other is fear.
As a consequence, ordinary people at home and especially Ethiopian youth wonder whether the fractured political and civil opposition within and outside the country is not now a barrier to change. In June 2011, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) produced a thought provoking assessment of “risks and stability” in Ethiopia. Its findings and general conclusions should force each one of us to do deep soul searching, not tomorrow but today. Repression and authoritarianism have worsened since 2005. There is little indication that the situation will be any better over the coming decade or two.
Is the regime alone to blame? I do not believe so. As I suggested in Waves last year, a narrowly based ethnic elite has little choice but to divide and rule; to repress and close political and economic space; and to engender fear consistently and persistently. Permanent suspense is its formulae for command and control. Does this mean that the regime is popular? It is feared; but it is not popular. It rules by forcing loyalty through membership drives and through the provision of financial and other incentives. 1/
This forced ‘{www:conscription}’ of party membership to ensure regime longevity makes it shallow and highly vulnerable. Forced conscription is not the same as consent. People have to work in order to feed themselves and their families. It is a matter of survival in a hostile environment where ethnic and party loyalty is at a premium. “Authoritarian regimes without significant constituencies are not stable in the long-run. Longevity should not be mistaken for resilience.” 2/
Most fair-minded foreign and domestic experts acknowledge the fact that the regime is narrowly-based and rules through division, deceit and fear. This fear culture is widespread and affects the Diaspora. The Guardian quotes a senior official of the German broadcasting company DW who says, “The present climate of fear leads many of our prospective partners in Ethiopia, and even in the Diaspora, to decline our interview requests… In Ethiopia, the threat of imprisonment for political journalists is constant,” as it is for all freedom seekers and democratic activists. Repression is thus total. The regime identifies, arrests and jails individuals it considers to be a threat one by one. Fractured and weak opposition groups within and outside the country are unable to wage sustained and well-coordinated civil resistance against this onslaught. Filling this critical gap in organization and wisdom-based leadrship is the order of the day.
Part two of this series will discuss the pitfalls and impact of fractured and weak opposition groups on Ethiopian activists and their families, and on the moral and determination of the Ethiopian people. It concludes by stating the obvious namely, the urgency for genuine coalition-building and for a unity of purpose and actions among opposition political and civic groups within and outside the country. Part three will present practical suggestions on the path forward that is anchored in the social and political realities within Ethiopia.
I suggest that social and political activism that is not anchored within Ethiopian society may have emotonal benefits but cannot advance the democratization process in the home-front.
It should be remembered that against a dictatorship the objective is not simply to bring down the dictators but to install a democratic system (To Remove and To Replace) and make the rise of a new dictatorship impossible. To view what Aristotle warned long ago that “… tyranny can also change into tyranny”… [read more]
Book Review By Ayal-Sew Dessye
Author: Dr. Aklog Birara
Title: Ethiopia: The Great Land Giveaway
486 pp
Dr. Aklog Birara’s recent book titled “Ethiopia: The Great Land Giveaway – የመሬት ነጠቃና ቅርሚት (Yemeret Neteka Ena Kirimit)” is a {www:voluminous} (486 pages), very well researched and clearly articulated magnificent piece of work that Ethiopians and anyone interested to know and understand the reasons behind the Land Grab {www:phenomenon}, the major players behind it and the impending consequences, why so many Ethiopians, as people in other countries where the issue is in evidence, are not only alarmed but also adamantly opposed to, and why it should be challenged more effectively.
By using his educational and professional background, his progressive convictions and his decades-long expertise as an economist with the World Bank, Dr. Aklog in this book critically examines and objectively analyses the burning issue commonly referred to as ‘Land Grab’ that he calls ‘የመሬት ነጠቃና ቅርሚት’. His careful and comprehensive analysis of the subject matter is so {www:replete} with a wealth of concrete data and detailed information that anyone interested to have full knowledge of or study the issue much better could greatly benefit from.
Yemeret Neteka Ena Kirimit is a comprehensive analysis of how and why the current government in Ethiopia headed by Meles Zenawi connived with foreign investors the author calls “New Landlords” to giveaway Ethiopian fertile farmlands for the express purpose of exporting the products at a time when Ethiopians are faced with recurring famine and starvation. Although the phenomenon is widespread in other countries (mainly in Africa) where people have no say and are under dictatorial rules, his focus is, as the title indicates and understandably, on Ethiopia. By so doing, he presents to his readers a full account of the travesty being perpetrated by and the on-going deceptive practices of none other than those entrusted with the welfare and well being of the people.
In the first and second of the ten chapters of the book, the reader finds the author’s general political outlook and his overall {www:assessment} of the social, economic and political realities of Ethiopia under TPLF/EPRDF tyrannical rule, with particular emphasis on the vices of ethnic politics, the serious challenges Ethiopians as a diverse people face and the fallacies and the destructive nature of the current regime’s policies. In Chapters Three through Eight, Dr. Aklog thoroughly discusses Meret Neteka and its ramifications. In Chapter Nine, under “Ethiopia’s Aid and Remittance mystery”, he examines the confounding issue of foreign aid in general with particular focus on the amount of foreign aid the regime of Meles Zenawi received, the misconceptions surrounding its effectiveness to alleviate poverty, its misuse by dictators and its role in supporting and perpetuating dictatorships, and its ineffectiveness to improve the lives of the people and why. In Chapter Ten, under the heading “The Ethiopia I Envisage: Options and Recommendations”, Dr. Aklog, who sees opportunities beyond the prevailing dire situations, presents his vision for his country of birth and proposes 20 possible areas that he recommends should be looked into in order to reverse course.
Through documentation of various sources (over 147 references) and well established data, Dr. Aklog has presented a compelling argument against this tragic but {www:brazen} underhanded deal between the government of Meles Zenawi and foreign interests represented by more than 36 countries.
The book portrays in great detail the economic, political and environmental impacts and the toll on local populations, describes the consequences on the very {www:sovereignty} of Ethiopians as a people, the role of foreign aid, etc. He systematically refutes the fallacies of TPLF/EPRDF policies and debunks the hallow arguments of its leaders and their henchmen that the land giveaway is meant to benefit the country and would help to alleviate poverty. The book disproves the notion of development through {www:expropriation} of fertile lands by foreigners for dirt cheap prices that would inevitably lead to the {www:subjugation} of our citizens to dehumanizing and demeaning servitude in the name of employment opportunity.
The Meles regime is reported to have concluded an estimated 8,400 to 9,000 land give away transactions. Dr. Aklog unveils staggering facts about this “deal of the century” including the total known farmland giveaway to date to being equivalent to Singapore, Bahrain, Luxemburg, Puerto Rico, Cyprus, Qatar, Tonga combined, and it is reported that a planned giveaway the size of Lebanon is in the works.
Following food shortages that triggered riots in many parts of the world, concerned governments, wary of similar fate in their own countries had to look elsewhere to guarantee food security. So too were entrepreneurs and businesses who saw an irresistible {www:lucrative} opportunity in the food market. Both governments and businesses wasted no time in rushing to get farmlands elsewhere.
In this rush for farmland, Africa once again became the target for a modern era scramble. And to that end, they had no problem finding perfect company in corrupt and unaccountable regimes there that have no {www:qualms} with giving away as much land as those “investors” wished for insignificant amounts. Naturally, and given the nature of government currently in power, Ethiopia became a perfect candidate for the new scramble. This new phenomenon came to being known as Land Grab.
Ever since the practice that Dr. Aklog calls ‘Yemeret Neteka Ena Kirimit‘ became evident, a lot has been written and said about it. Although the issue has been consistently raised, discussed, debated and extensively written about by individuals, both Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians and organizations like, for example, The Oakland Institute that was and continues to be in the forefront of the campaign against this injustice against impoverished populations around the globe, to date, Dr. Aklog’s book, ‘Ethiopia: The Great Land Giveaway – የመሬት ነጠቃና ቅርሚት’, is the only comprehensive study on the subject as it pertains to Ethiopia.
Whereas colonialists in the past used the Bible, under the preposterous pretext of “civilizing backward societies” or in many instances had no qualms with using military power to occupy sovereign countries in Africa and elsewhere, subjugate their people and plunder the natural resources, today’s intrusion by foreigners that similarly relegates local populations to a dehumanizing second class status is done in the name of “investment” and is done by invitation.
And this, what Dr. Aklog refers to as “colonialism by invitation”, is perpetrated by reckless dictators who care more about staying in power by all means and amass wealth every which way they could than the welfare of the people they rule over. These greedy dictators and their henchmen, along with their colluding partners, the foreign “investors” in question, are the sole beneficiaries of such shadowy deals.
The scope and {www:magnitude} of the ongoing land grab phenomenon can be daunting. Although this shadowy deal by all accounts favors the new foreign landlords greatly, it cannot simply be measured by the apparent lopsided economic benefits those foreign interests or their agents or their partners in TPLF/EPRDF ruling clique get. The resultant disadvantages to local populations and society at large is incalculable and the impending environmental impact {www:staggering}. Because it directly affects local populations where acquisitions are taking place in particular and the people of the country in general in many, many ways, this “deal of the century” is more than an economic issue. In short, this scramble for farmlands expropriates the natural assets of the people that the author refers to as “… potentially the most substantial source of comparative advantage…”, displaces and uproots families and communities, relegates the very owners of the land to serfdom, and because the practice is unregulated and these foreign landlords are free to do whatever they want with their new acquisitions, the environmental hazards and the ecological impacts would be incalculable. Moreover, in addition to the obvious financial benefits dictators like Meles Zenawi & Co. get as a result of the Yemeret Neteka Ena Kirimit deal, the new landlords would prove to be a source of vital diplomatic and political support to sustain their tyrannical rule. Those foreign land lords are equally aware of the fact that most, if not all, of their 9-page “contracts” they entered into with the regime that gave them this exploitative and unfair deal would depend on the {www:longevity} of those currently in political power. Therefore, doing all they can to keep them in power would prove to be an {www:irresistible} enterprise. It is safe to assume that this aspect is part of the calculation of Meles Zenawi’s and his regime’s decision to giveaway Ethiopian fertile farmlands to foreign investors so easily and at will.
Thence, to add insult to injury, in addition to all the hardships and impacts herein above mentioned that result from this pernicious “deal of the century”, the new landlords would be another {www:flank} that Ethiopian patriots and democrat will have to resist in their fight to end tyranny in their country.
What makes this land giveaway that one may call “Land to the Higher Bidder” more insane and {www:incomprehensible} is the irony that it is being done by the same generation that struggled to end serfdom and for equality and justice for all Ethiopians under the progressive slogan of “Land to the Tiller”.
Of course, the bogus claim by the regime that by colluding with these foreign investors and giving away fertile farmlands, Ethiopia can reduce poverty and their {www:audacity} to aver that this would help to end the perennial problem of famine and food shortages in the country is ludicrous. How on earth and in what way would landless Ethiopians who cannot afford to cop-up with the ever increasing local food prices benefit from this deal knowing too well that the foreign landlords’ express desire and whole purpose of having the farmlands in the first place is to export the farm products primarily to their respective countries and secondarily to world markets for profit?
Dr. Aklog reminds TPLF/EPRDF leaders and their supporters that “development is all about people” after all. And by stating that, “The regime expropriates and gives farmlands away to the highest bidder without any open competition. The reason is simple. It is to ensure single party dominance over the national economy…”, ” that these permanent transfers of one of the pillars of the economy to a privileged few domestic investors and to governments, firms and individuals from 36 countries contradict the governing party’s commitment to the Ethiopian people that land is a common property that is bound by specific norms, values and constitutional parameters..”, further exposes their deceitful practices and hallow arguments. He reminds the regime and its supporters that, as has been proven in the late Sixties and early Seventies, Ethiopian domestic investors are capable of transforming fertile farmlands into mechanized and large scale commercial farms if they are given the opportunity and have the freedom.
These are some of the many points ‘The Great Land Giveaway – የመሬትነጠቃናቅርሚት’ raises and discusses in depth.
Although this farcical deal definitely enriches those foreign “investors” and their greedy and spineless domestic agents in governmental power, it comes at heavy cost to Ethiopia and Ethiopians. The book demonstrates not only the uselessness of the Meret Neteka enterprise to the Ethiopian masses, but clearly shows the multi-faceted dangers it entails and presents compelling reasons as to why Ethiopians of all walks of life ought to stand up together and oppose it in every possible way.
It is clear that this shadowy enterprise deprives Ethiopians not only of their rightful ownership of their ancestral land, but more fundamentally rob them of their very honor and dignity as human beings and their sovereignty as Ethiopian citizens. By all accounts, this sinister collusion and underhanded deal between Meles Zenawi’s regime and foreign investors is nothing short of a fundamental sovereignty issue. It, in fact, is a basic human rights issue that every well meaning Ethiopian should clearly understand and fight against.
The author does not reserve his criticism to TPLF/EPRDF leaders. He expresses his understandable dismay at the democratic opposition’s apparent dismal failure to mount a systematic and sustainable campaign to stop this deplorable and treasonous act of the regime. As such, he states that “…The duality in poor governance–single party hegemony on the one hand and fractured opposition on the other–is that the regime is able to squander natural resources such as fertile farmlands. It gives away the country’s major source of current and future comparative advantage to foreign investors free. This is because there is no one to challenge it. The regime is free
to promote yemeret neteka ena kirimit (land grab and giveaway) without substantial challenge from opposition parties and civic organizations”.
The very corrupt system of government under Meles Zenawi is the kernel of the narrative that is repeatedly discussed by the author in ‘Ethiopia: The Great Land Giveaway – የመሬት ነጠቃና ቅርሚት’. As in the case of other similar sinister and irresponsible policies and actions of the regime of Meles Zenawi, Dr. Aklog rightfully ties this malicious deal to give away Ethiopian fertile farmlands to foreigners to the very bankrupt system of the TPLF/EPRDF; a system that is evidently dictatorial but also one that is devoid of any sense of accountability and decency, and led by people lacking in Ethiopian values and patriotism. As such, and because of that, no amount of condemnation short of total reversal of such policies could alter the situation on the ground. And that, in my humble opinion, can only be realized with the removal from power of the regime.
Dr. Aklog does not only amply show the travesty surrounding the issue and reminds us about the impending dangers to Ethiopia and its people, but also puts forward concrete suggestions to successfully challenge this land giveaway enterprise and build an equitable and non-discriminatory, pluralistic and democratic society.
As passionate as he has been on this land grab issue as early as it became evident, Dr. Aklog, by writing Yemeret Neteka Ena Kirimit, has given Ethiopians a comprehensive document to base their argument against this farcical deal and related criminal behavior of the Meles Zenawi regime. I am only hoping that Ethiopians on both sides of the political spectrum – both opposed to or supportive of this politically charged issue of national import – would take time to read it and discuss the very issue soberly.
My only suggestion to the author would be that when the time comes fora reprint of the book, please consider issuing it in a smaller size to make it easier to carry and handle.
I would just conclude this review by quoting a paragraph on page 129 of the book.
The massive transfer of fertile farmlands from Ethiopian families, communities and the entire society to foreign investors is the last ominous indicator of a regime that is determined to rob the country and its people of their most critical natural resource assets, their honor, dignity and sovereignty – all done in the name of development and transformation”. Emphasis is mine.
In the final analysis, the difference between the Derg and the Woyanne regime in terms of repression and exclusiveness is becoming blurred by the day since the 2005 election. In a previous article, I indicated that the toughening of repression is part of a political strategy associated with the “implementation” of an authoritarian development model, to wit, the developmental state. The strategy is to weaken the opposition to the point of making it irrelevant by removing its influence on the masses, which influence essentially originates from economic plight. A non-participatory regime that provides bread and butter for the masses is not only assured of a long rule, but can even legitimize its political hegemony by electoral victories.
The trouble with an authoritarian model of development is that it needs time to effect tangible economic improvements. And time is what the Woyanne regime does not have so long as a {www:vociferous} opposition denigrates its “achievements.” The strategy of the developmental state needs time and time becomes available only when the opposition is silenced. This explains why journalists are the main target of repression: their criticisms deprive the regime of the silence it needs to advertise its “achievements” to the masses. A critical press is utterly damaging for a regime that derives economic progress from above and makes it dependent on the postponement of {www:gratification}.
Things would have been much easier if the silencing of opposition could use {www:lethal} repression. The bloody repression of the Derg was fashionable in the context of the Cold War and the ideology of class struggle prescribing violence as the decisive expression of the commitment to the interests of the masses. The collapses of the Soviet camp and of the ideology of class struggle and the subsequent acceptance of multipartism have robbed deadly repression of its entitlement as the midwife of history. This altered context, and that alone, explains why the Woyanne regime hesitates to be as brutal as the Derg.
What this means is that is that the difference between the two regimes since the 2005 election is more a difference in style than substance. The goal remains the same: the control of absolute power through the repression of the opposition. Only the Woyanne regime has replaced {www:sheer} brutality with a judicial {www:masquerade}, thereby covering repression with the appearance of legality. Instead of silencing the opposition through the threat of violent death, the Woyanne regime has opted for a form of repression whose essential task is to break and humiliate targeted people.
There is an inherent reason for the choice of this form of repression. Together with the international dislike of repressive regimes, the changed context of multipartism leaves little room for the sheer physical elimination of opponents. You cannot claim to be an advocate of multipartism while physically eliminating the leaders of opposition parties. By contrast, you can bring them to court and make them face charges that range from terrorism to constitutional violations. All you need is a {www:docile} court system. More exactly, the quelling of dissidents occurs prior to the judicial masquerade; it takes place in the inhuman condition of detention where deprivations, torture, and all forms of humiliation are widely practiced. By the time the accused reach the court, they are already in pieces, wreckages of what they used to be. The court is thus not so much where you defend your rights as where you {www:implore} for mercy.
The whole purpose of breaking targeted individuals is to divest the social movement for change of trusted and galvanizing leaders, the outcome of which is none other than a crippled opposition. What else does the context of a leaderless protest guarantee but the continuous prevalence of the Woyanne regime, even in electoral contests? When leaders give in to intimidation and mistreatment, not only are they diminished in the eyes of followers and the masses, but they also seem to {www:recant} their political commitments, and so nullify the very existence of opposition.
What follows from this is the need to adjust the struggle to the repressive style. What Ethiopia’s social protest needs above all is the rise of leaders whose main characteristic is the refusal to yield. Indomitability alone can shatter the system by its inspirational impact on the social protest. The latter craves not so much for convincing or sophisticated ideological visions or political programs as for the exemplary behavior of leaders who withstand the scheme of {www:debasement}. What the Ethiopian {www:renaissance} awaits is not a dam on the Nile; it is heroism.
KENYA — Administration Police officers in Merti District have arrested 55 Ethiopian immigrants who were being transported in a vehicle to an unknown {www:destination}.
The Ethiopians and the vehicle’s Kenyan driver and conductor were arrested at Kom on Wednesday at around 11pm. They were detained at the AP camp before they were transferred to Isiolo Thursday morning.
Regional Commissioner for Upper Eastern Isaiah Nakoru said Thursday those arrested were 18 women, seven children and 30 men, adding that initial investigation showed they were picked from the border town of Moyale by Kenyans.
Illegal routes
“The foreigners will be charged with being in the country illegally while the two Kenyans have to answer many questions before charges are preferred against them. They could be charged with {www:human trafficking},’’ said Nakoru in his Isiolo office. The administrator said they want to establish from the driver why he was carrying 55 people in a vehicle that at best should carry 12 to 15 people and why he avoided the Isiolo-Moyale highway and instead used illegal routes to reach Isiolo via Merti.
The administration, he added, also wants to establish the owner of the vehicle and his ties with the Ethiopians. Hundreds of Ethiopians pass through Isiolo every month on their way to Nairobi from where they are helped by Kenyans involved in human trafficking to reach South Africa.
Bribed
“We have instructed the police to {www:impound }the vehicle until the owner turns up. We are also interested to find out why his vehicle does this kind of illegal activity,’’ said Nakoru.
Junior officers in Isiolo lamented that when they arrest illegal immigrants and the drivers, their seniors usually release them after they are bribed.
Unity is the most powerful gravitational force in the life of any people or nation. When the Americans founded their Republic, they were driven to transform their colonial identity by creating unity in a new American community. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…” they announced to the world in the Preamble to their Constitution. When some Americans sought to destroy the union to preserve slavery and cleave the country, Abraham Lincoln rose to defend the indivisibility and unity of the American people: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free”, he warned those bent on “dissolving the Union”. A bloody civil war was fought to save the Union and the unity of the American people. Another Illinoisan, Barack Obama, declared at the Democratic National Convention in 2004: “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America – there’s the United States of America.”
Is there a united people of Ethiopia today? For the past two decades, the maxim of those who have riveted themselves to the platform of power in Ethiopia has been: “We, the rulers of the people, in order to form a more perfect disunion…” They have put to use the ultimate weapon found in the arsenal of tyranny and despotism. They have divided and misruled, divided and subjugated, and divided and parceled away the land in bits, pieces and chunks. They have managed to systematically divide the people by region, city, town and even neighborhood. They have succeeded in dividing the people by corralling them into homelands (bantustans) in the name of “ethnic federalism”. They have sought to divide the people by language and religion, and even rupture the bonds of affection between Ethiopians living in the country and those in the Diaspora.
They have masterfully and cunningly used every means at their disposal to exploit and accentuate historic grievances and create new ones to cling to power. They have worked tirelessly to divide the minds, thoughts and emotions of the people by inventing lies, manufacturing half-truths, sowing discord and spreading fear, loathing and animosity. They have hatched differences where none exist, magnified and exacerbated reconcilable differences and politicized such differences and used them to prolong their grip on power. They have pitted one group against another; favored some groups and isolated and marginalized many others. Their only and final answer to the question of Ethiopian unity has been: “If Ethiopia disintegrates, so be it. It was not meant to be.”
Towards a more perfect unity for Ethiopians
Tyranny, despotism and dictatorship thrive and flourish when the people are disunited and the tyrants and their supporters maintain their ironclad unity. The single most important factor for the success of tyranny is disunity and division among the people. Unity is the ultimate antidote to tyranny and the force tyrants fear the most. Lacking unity, there could only be a weak and helpless Ethiopian community. Unity is strength; and to make possible a more perfect union among Ethiopians, a special kind of unity that grows out of our common humanity is urgently needed. This special unity is grounded in a fundamental belief that our common bonds of humanity are greater than the sum of our bonds of ethnicity, nationality and communality. It is a unity that harmonizes African and Western values. It draws upon the African ethic of “Ubuntu”, often used by Nelson Mandela to teach us about the essence of human existence: “A person is a person because of other people. You can do nothing if you don’t get the support of other people.” “Ubunity” (to coin a term) is unity that requires us to see each other as brothers and sisters and relate to each other on the basis of the principles of sharing, caring, trust, tolerance, honesty and morality. The special unity of which I speak is also grounded in an unshakeable belief that our individual liberty must be protected against those who commit crimes against humanity and acts of atrocity, sneer at public accountability and abuse their authority and act beyond the limits of constitutionality.
I ask all Ethiopians to strive for a special kind of unity which I call both “humunity” and “younity” (to coin new terms). “Huminity” is unity based not on ethnicity or nationality but on the core universal values of human dignity. It is unity that is powered by a moral commitment to respect and uphold human rights, an allegiance to the rule of law, a belief in the consent of the people as the only legitimate basis of power, and strict adherence to principles of constitutional governance, accountability and transparency. If we could develop wide and deep consensus on these values, we would have achieved unity of thought, purpose and consciousness. If we put these values into action by defending the rights of victims of human rights abuses, working for improvements in the observance of human rights conventions, organizing, teaching and preparing the youth for a democratic society, exposing corruption and abuse of power, strengthening our interpersonal relations across ethnic, religious and class lines, we will have achieved unity in action and deeds. Is it not true that the things that divide us, sow discord and hatred amongst us are rooted in and fester because of the very absence of these universal values in our lives?
Tyrants divide the people by magnifying the smallest of differences. Often, the people fall prey to the schemes of tyrants and sing their songs of discord and division. But in my conception of “huminity”, it is possible to have diversity of opinion, views and approaches because I believe “Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.” If we embrace and practice the universal principles of human rights, we will realize that it is not about our ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, region or anything else, but what we can do collectively and individually to remove the yoke of oppression and tyranny and institute democracy and the rule of law.
My conception of “younity” is a simple idea about you and I together standing up to tyranny and oppression. It is based on the notion that each one of us is a link in a long chain of both oppression and freedom. Our yearning for freedom welds the links in the chain of unity; tyranny melts the links. I believe we all have an individual civic and moral duty to strengthen the links and bonds of unity in the Ethiopian people by embracing and practicing the core values of human dignity and rights. Political leaders must adopt a new and more powerful language of “huminity” to bring the people of divergent views together. Religious leaders must speak of “huminity” in the language of divinity. They should preach and pray for unity. Civic leaders must speak up and advocate for “huminity”. Academics must teach the ways of “huminity”to the youth; and the youth must teach the older generation of the necessity of “huminity” for a new and enlightened Ethiopian community. Most importantly, ordinary people in the street must speak in the language of our common humanity (ubunity) to achieve ultimate unity.
Unity in the cause of liberty is the only proven weapon in the history of mankind that has defeated tyranny, despotism and dictatorship. In 1776, thirteen American colonies successfully united in a struggle against royal tyranny that had visited upon them a “long train of abuses and usurpations” and “reduce[d] them under absolute Despotism”. Africans overthrew colonialism and apartheid when they united against a common oppressor. More recently, the people of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia proved the proposition that “The people united can never be defeated.”
The price of disunity is continued victimization, exploitation, fragmentation and disintegration. We can choose to engage in internecine bickering and fear and hate-mongering. We can work at cross-purposes, undermine, undercut and underrate each other, but at the end of the day we will only have the unity of losers. Or we can choose the path of unity, ubunity, huminity and younity.
Ethiopians of all backgrounds must come together in spirit of brother and sisterhood. They must build bridges across ethnic, religious, linguistic and other divides by building alliances, coalitions and reinforcing our historic interdependence. When there is unity among the people, everything is possible. Diversity reigns supreme where there is unity. The pursuit of social, economic and political equality is much more easily attainable when there is unity among the people. The individual finds greater opportunity in a society that enjoys unity. Through unity we can go beyond the limits of humanity to the boundless realm of divinity.
We the People of Ethiopia
Some are perfectly willing to cast the fate of Ethiopia to the wind and say, “If Ethiopia disintegrates, so be it. It was not meant to be.” I believe the unity of all Ethiopians is divinely ordained. That is why I look forward to the day when Ethiopians– men and women, young and old, rich and poor, city dwellers and country folks, the learned and illiterate and those of diverse faiths and languages– will assemble and issue a Great Charter announcing to the world: “We, the people of Ethiopia, in order to form a more perfect Union…”
SUPPORT ETHIOPIAN UNITY, HUMINITY, YOUNITY, UBUNITY!
