(Amnesty International) — Reacting to the news that the Ethiopian [rubber-stamp] Parliament has today passed an Anti-Terror Proclamation in Ethiopia, Amnesty International warns that the law could restrict freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and the right to fair trial, with serious implications in the run up to Ethiopia’s 2010 parliamentary election.
Although the Ethiopian government tribal junta in Ethiopia faces legitimate security concerns, any anti-terror legislation must be in accordance with international human rights standards. [To most Ethiopians there is no worse terrorist than Woyanne.]
“The Government of Ethiopia {www:Woyanne} has a history of stifling dissent and it is worrying that this law now risks further violating Ethiopia’s obligations under international human rights law,” said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s Africa programme director. “The Anti-Terror Proclamation is expected to provide Ethiopian authorities with unnecessarily far reaching powers which could lead to further arbitrary arrests”.
Based on earlier drafts of the law previously made available to Amnesty International, “acts of terrorism” are vaguely defined and could encompass the legitimate expression of political dissent.
The law defines “acts of terrorism” as including damage to property and disruption to any public service, for which an individual could be sentenced to 15 years in prison or even the death penalty. Thousands of protesters, political party leaders, journalists and human rights defenders were arrested and detained following the disputed November 2005 elections in which the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne) retained political power.
Akwaaba, President Obama: But what will he say to Ghanaians?
By Edward Kutsoati
Last year, in the midst of the “Obama fever,” another event – by no means as historic as President Barack Obama’s election victory, but remarkable nonetheless – was shaping up in Ghana. In December 2008, Ghanaians went to the polls, for the fifth successive time since the country returned to constitutional rule in 1992, to elect a new president. The outcome: the closest election ever. About 9.5 million votes were cast in a runoff that saw John Atta-Mills beat out Nana Akuffo-Addo by only 41,000 votes. Yes, only 41,000 – less than one-half of a percent.
Even more striking is that the elections resulted in a peaceful transfer of power from the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), without a single loss of life. It is the second time in 8 years that such a transfer of power has occurred in Ghana; the first in January 2001 when the NDC lost to the NPP. And in case you were wondering, Ghana is in sub-Sahara Africa, where election results are expected to be disputed and often trigger violence.
For Ghana, this a testament of the progress made in a relatively short span of two decades, and a powerful signal to the world that a new and stable political climate is finally emerging. There are already some dividends: There is now a more open society which, with the help of an increased coverage of mobile phones, is becoming more engaged in social, political and economic issues; a freer press is helping to put a check on government excesses; and an increase in investor confidence is stimulating direct investments. And all that is expected to receive a further boost when President Obama pays a 2-day visit on July 10 – 11, 2009, his first to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since assuming the office of the President of the USA. Given Obama’s iconic status, his visit will be seen as an endorsement of the progress in Ghana.
From Ghana, President Obama is likely to implore other African nations, such as Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Kenya, his ancestral country, to follow Ghana’s trail. That is fine, but this is not the time for gloating. Let’s make no mistake about this: Although encouraging, the economic condition in Ghana is pretty far from what’s needed to, first, achieve all of the MDGs, and provide a robust economic environment that will unleash individuals’ “entrepreneurial spirits.” The basic growth-promoting infrastructures (quality education, safe health care, clean portable water, affordable and reliable energy) remains beyond the reach of many Ghanaians; annual per capita GDP is at US$550 – not that much different from the average income at independence in 1957 – yet incomes are much more unequal today. To get an idea of how unequal incomes are becoming, consider this: Daily Graphic, on June 17, carried a story of squatters at Agblogbloshie, a slum just outside downtown Accra, digging themselves deep into filthy waters to collect, for re-sale, diesel oil leaking out of a nearby factory plant. That same week, Villaggio Vista, the luxury residential complex at the Tetteh Quarshie Circle, Accra, showcased their 3- and 4-bedroom condos: asking prices start from $525,000, with the high-end units priced in the mid-$800,000. Such inequities make it difficult to sustain economic development.
So what should Mr. Obama say to Ghanaians, Africans and their leaders? Whatever is Mr. Obama’s policy agenda for sub-Saharan Africa, or the purpose for this visit (there is talk of the “pot” of oil that Ghana recently struck), most observers will agree that it is in the interest of Africa and the world that “success stories,” such as Ghana’s, do not lose the momentum and the gains made so far. Each time progress is derailed in any part of the continent, the consequences have always been tragic. What Africa really needs now is a “develop and hold strategy”: Simply put, the progress in Ghana must be complete and sustainable. That means it must be underpinned by strong institutions that not only protect civil and property rights, but also hold the government to account. The deals made with multinational firms in its extractive industries (e.g., gold, timber, and now oil), must be fair, transparent, and have a chance to stimulate the economy. A positive message from Mr. Obama on these issues will energize civil society groups, think tanks and NGOs (such as the CJA, CDD and WACAM) who have been calling for reforms that promote better opportunities for all.
More power to the people!
With so many land-locked nations, rugged landscapes, weak institutions and some harmful cultural practices, there is no question that sub-Saharan Africa faces huge developmental challenges. In many places, these constraints were compounded by colonial policies that not only deprived the continent of some of its able young men and women, but also nurtured the worst extractive institutions, and drew artificial lines of boundaries that, if not caused, certainly reinforced mistrust among nations and neighbors. Mr. Obama will see, perhaps for the first time, some of the legacy of the slave trade when he visits the Cape Coast Slave castle. I have no doubt in my mind that he will categorically condemn the slave trade and colonialism.
But we need to move on. Ghana may have been pushed to ground, but we must find smart ways to get up. No amount of foreign aid can achieve as much as our own initiatives. These must start with reforms that empowers and inform citizens to make the right choices; and one of the most needed now is a constitutional amendment that gives individuals the right to choose their own District Chief Executives (DCEs), the equivalent of city mayors, and regional ministers. Back in 1992, the framers of our constitution thought that, for a relatively young democracy, it was necessary to have the president appoint all city mayors so as to promote a cohesive national development agenda. Furthermore, it was argued that direct elections will divide, rather than unite, communities since too many were uninformed to make the right decisions. Hogwash!
Ghanaians know that the real reason for this flawed decentralization set-up is so that the President can have 167 DCE- and 10 regional ministerial-posts as “jobs for the boys.” But this is a bane of our development. Direct elections of DCEs will not only promote competition of ideas, but also ensure that our local governments become more accountable to the people. More importantly, the elected DCE will refuse to take the fall for any policy failures of the central government, creating an automatic checks and balance within the governing hierarchy. Cognizant of the impact of their decisions on their communities, people will seek the information needed to make the right choices; without blaming anyone for their own their mistakes. When individuals are marginalized from the most important decision-making processes, they blame others for what goes wrong, and often resort to violence. This is, arguably, the most powerful case for direct elections of DCEs.
However, alone, it cannot be the panacea. Elsewhere, I have argued that by leveraging the expanding coverage of mobile phone networks, the central government can create an efficient accounting and auditing systems to promote transparent local and central governments.
Fair deals and equitable distribution of resource rents
At the start of Ghana’s economic reform programs, the path to growth was expected to be paved with the rents from the extractive industry (gold, timber, and now oil). Foreign direct investment responded to powerful incentives that were packed into the new Mining Act of 1986. But two decades later, the hope for mining to become a catalyst for economic growth has been more or less unfulfilled. Yes, there have been some gains, but they seem to be outweighed by large negative consequences. For example, inadequate protection of property rights has led to paltry sums of compensation to farmers who lose their cocoa lands to mining concessions. Consider this: it is estimated that a cocoa tree yields about half-bag of beans each year, a GHc50 (Ghana cedis) value, and a tree can last for about 40 – 50 years. Yet, average compensation is about GHc10 per tree.
And this is just the beginning. Mining firms continue to pay one of the lowest royalty rates in the world: 3% of profits; with very little going to the mining communities who have to deal with huge negative externalities of mining activities – frequent cyanide spillage into water bodies; lost of farmlands with little, or no, alternatives, etc. Interestingly, a decent portion of the royalty is given to local chiefs and their traditional councils “to maintain the dignity of their stools.” Huh? It is time to get serious and build the capacity to negotiate for fair deals. In an increasingly competitive global economy, Ghana’s only edge may lie in its natural resources, and we better make the best out of it.
God’s messengers
Finally, if President Mr. Obama feels emboldened enough to be politically incorrect, he could take a swipe at the growing number “men and women of God” promising better economic outcomes to innocent Ghanaians. Collectively, these “crooks masquerading as prophets,” have succeeded in instilling so much fear into Ghanaians such that they have nowhere to turn to except give their next dollar to a pastor. Along the way, pastors continue to sow and nourish seeds of mistrust among family members and neighbors. You lost a job? Blame that witch of an aunt. Recently got denied a visa by the US Embassy? The neighbor’s ‘voodoo’ was responsibly for that too.
With so much fear and little trust among neighbors, how can the nation build the social capital to enhance economic relations and growth? 75 years ago, Franklin Roosevelt recognized the devastating effect of fear at the height of the depression when he told Americans that “the only thing they had to fear was fear itself.” Religion can be a powerful tool for good. Unfortunately, it has become a weapon of mental enslavement of millions of Ghanaians, and it is time Ghanaians themselves of these chains, completely.
Ghana is great nation with lovely people, rich culture and so much potential. It needs good and honest leaders. In his inaugural speech, President Obama admonished Americans “to set aside childish things …. .; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.” No group of people needs this poignant message more than the political, traditional and spiritual leaders of Ghana and the continent of Africa.
(Edward Kutsoati is Associate Professor of Economics at Tufts University and a regular columnist for www.AfricanLiberty.org. He can be reached at [email protected])
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopia’s [rubber-stamp] parliament on Tuesday adopted a new anti-terrorism bill despite criticism by rights groups that the legislation violates civil liberties.
The law, proposed last year after a string of bomb attacks in the capital, comprises 38 sections and paves the way for arrests and searches without court warrants.
The legislation championed by Prime Minister tribal dictator Meles Zenawi [who is accused by international human rights groups of committing war crimes] was voted for by 286 lawmakers in Ethiopia’s 547-seat parliament, 91 against and one abstention, an AFP correspondent reported.
“Whosoever writes, edits, prints, publishes, publicizes, disseminates, shows, makes to be heard any promotional statements encouraging… terrorist acts is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from 10 to 20 years,” it says.
Several opposition members, while insisting they were committed to the fight against terrorism, also criticized the law for being prone to abuse by security forces.
“The law itself terrorizes citizens. We are strictly against it,” former president and now opposition MP, Negaso Gidada, told AFP.
Last week, the US-based Human Rights Watch said the law broadly defined terrorism, risked muzzling political speech and encouraging unfair trials.
The law is also meant to counter the activities of some separatist groups, who have been blamed by Addis Ababa for carrying out “terror attacks” throughout the Horn of Africa nation.
In recent months, Ethiopia’s parliament has passed a series of laws tightening up on the activities of non-governmental organizations, associations and the local media, while most political opponents are in prison or living in exile.
Elections are due in June 2010, five years after disputed polls led to the death of nearly 200 people.
Sana’a, Yemen (NewsYemen) — Yemeni families gathered at the Sana’a Airport Friday night over news that a Lufthansa plane caught fire due to emergency landing at Frankfurt International Airport few minutes after taking off from the same airport.
The incident resulted in the flight delay from 09:00 pm on Friday until 01:00 am on Saturday (local time), said sources at the Sana’a Airport.
A Lufthansa plane, A330, which was en route to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, had to abruptly land again due to a technical fault, some passengers who arrived on board another plane told NewsYemen.
The front tries of the plane exploded and the plane started sliding on the ground and then a small fire caught the plane, but firemen could put it out, said a passenger.
Frequent Airbus incidents raise more questions on the level of safety of the Airbus planes as four similar emergency landing incidents occurred last month in Russia and Australia and one Air France crashed on June 1 with 228 on board and finally the Yemenia airliner A310 crash on June 30.
GABORONE (Nation) — Botswana has said that it does not agree with the African Union (AU) decision to denounce the International Criminal Court (ICC) and to refuse to extradite Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to stand trial for genocide.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir over genocide in the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur but the AU has snubbed the court on the matter.
“The government of Botswana does not agree with this (AU) decision and wishes to reaffirm its position that as a State Party to the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court (ICC) it has treaty obligations to fully cooperate with the ICC in the arrest and transfer of the President of Sudan to the ICC,” a statement from the Botswana Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Sunday.
The statement said the ICC was established specifically to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community by prosecuting those suspected of committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
“The people of Africa and Sudan in particular have been victims of these crimes. Botswana strongly holds the view that the people of Africa, including the people of Sudan, deserve to be protected from the perpetrators of such crimes. This is why a majority of African countries, numbering thirty (30) are State Parties to the Rome Statute,” the statement added.
Even before the AU made its decision, Botswana President Ian Khama has previously indicated that when he gets the opportunity, he would arrest Al-Bashir and hand him over to the ICC. Khama said he will arrest Al-Bashir during a visit by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete early this year.
Botswana vice-president, Lt-Gen. Mompati Merafhe and Foreign Minister Mr. Phandu Skelemani are expected to hold a press in Gaborone today (Monday 6, July 2009) on the AU decision to rebuff the ICC. Lt-Gen Merafhe and Mr Skelemani attended the AU summit in Sirte Libya.
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]
