November 4th, 2008, marked a great milestone in American history and the history of people of African descent. For the first time in the history of mankind, a junior senator of African heritage got elected to the office of the President of the United States of America. It was a moment of jubilation and thrill…the euphoria was felt around the world. Millions wept out of happiness and for witnessing the unimagined prospect of an African-American president in a once the most racist nation on earth.
That great ecstasy was deeply felt in Africa more than any other place outside the United States. A young senator, whom many in Africa referred to as a native son, won the highest trophy ever imaginable. From the streets of Kogelo – Obama’s ancestral village, to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and anywhere in between, the jubilation was rampant.
Just like the triumph, expectations for a favorable American policy towards Africa were high in the air. Even African dictators, ironically the very people who have denied freedom to Africans and condemned them to a miserable life by failing to tackle or exacerbating the issues of corruption, mismanagement, environmental degradation, mal-governance, abuse of power, conflict, poverty and what not, praised Obama’s historic victory one after another. The worst of African dictators jumped on the bandwagon glorifying and praising Obama’s victory as historic and momentous. Here are few such praises from African leaders:
Mr. Moi Kibaki, President of Kenya described Obama´s victory as a “momentous occasion for Kenya…it is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya… as a country, we are full of pride for his success…your victory is not only an inspiration to millions of people all over the world, but it has special resonance with us here in Kenya.”
Nigerian President Oumaru Yar´Adua…”the election of Barack Obama … has finally broken the greatest barrier of prejudice in human history. I believe for us in Nigeria, we have a lesson to draw from this historic event…that the election of Obama had “created a totally and completely new era.”
Denis Sassou Nguesso described Obama´s victory as a “…moving historic moment…we see how visionaries like Martin Luther King saw coming events. His dream has come true.”
Chad’s National Assembly Leader; Nasser Guelindoksia agreed that Obama´s victory “…is an example to follow, especially by Africans as Americans show that democracy knows no color, religion or origin.”
Somalia’s former President of the Transitional Somali Government, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed defined Obama´s victory as “…a great moment for America and for Africa…I am hopeful that he (President Obama) will help end the major crisis in the world, particularly the endless conflict in my country.”
Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Beshir noted “…we would hope that the slogan of President Obama – change – would be reflected in the foreign policy of the United States…we would like to see some real change between Sudan and the United States.”
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe expressed “…your election…carries with it hopes for millions of your country men and women as much as it is for millions of people of … African descent.”
Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe wrote “…as the government and people of Zimbabwe join you in celebrating this event in the history of the U.S.A, I take this opportunity to assure you Mr. President-elect that the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe remains ready to engage your government in any desirable endeavor to improve our bilateral relations”.
During his rigorous campaign season, Obama vowed to change American policy towards Africa. Among other things, Obama called on “Ethiopia and Eritrea to walk back from the brink of war which seemed unavoidable at the time…called for an increased pressure on Robert Mugabe to follow through with power-sharing agreement…promised to end the genocide in Darfur… pledged to formulate a new approach to the deteriorating situation in Somalia…strengthen Africom to promote peace, security, and stability on the continent.”
Obama raised the bar even higher in his inaugural speech when he declared “to those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist…to all those watching tonight (January 20, 2009) from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces …huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand…those who seek peace and security – we support you.”
Today, after 100 full days in office, Obama got an A or B on most of the things he has accomplished so far and for keeping most of his campaign promises. In his own words Obama acknowledged that he is “pleased with what has been accomplished so far, but we have got a lot of work to do”. Most commentators/journalists based their grading on wide range of issues but notably on the economy, transition into power, hiring scrambles, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Environment, Women Rights, Health care, Transparency and Accountability, Bipartisanship, the Closure of Guantanamo Prison and etc.
I wanted to look at what Obama folks have accomplished the African policy conundrum in their first hundred days in office. Practically, nothing. I am not aware of any major campaigns by the African Diaspora or African interest groups with the exception of Save Darfur Coalition that had an agenda for the President in an effort to hit the ground running. Rather a whole host of expectations that the Obama people would be favorable in their approach towards African issues; Hunger, Poverty, HIV, corruption, democracy, regional Peace and Stability etc that are not addressed. There is no doubt that the financial meltdown and the many challenges Obama has inherited from his predecessor has overshadowed his African and other policy initiatives [IV]. But it seems to me that the no-drama Obama team could have done a lot better if they moved “swiftly and quickly” as they have promised us – the enthusiastic supporters.
The visit of Senator John Kerry to Sudan and U.S. Rep. Donald Payne – chairman of the Africa subcommittee on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to Mogadishu and the dramatic saga of Somali Pirates were among the few major African news makers involving the current U.S Administration.
John Kerry’s visit to Khartoum pushed the Sudanese government to agree to allow some of the expelled humanitarian and aid agencies back to Darfur. The piracy incident was hailed by many as Obama’s first national security test that he proficiently passed. There were also reports that the Obama administration is rethinking its Somalia strategy and Defense Secretary Robert Gates went as far as stating “…the ultimate solution for piracy is on land… there is no purely military solution to it…” and the instability and lawlessness in Somalia is key to the problem.
Whereas the insurgents fired mortar at Representative Payne’s plane, there was little coverage of the purpose and result of the visit. But the congressman stated that “…the policy of constructive engagement [is] where you deal with the government, and let them deal with their internal problem” is essential to curbing piracy off the Somali coast. He added “…the Somali government doesn’t want Americans to come run any nation-building programs…they want technical assistance… they need financial support, and they’ll take care of it for themselves.”
Very few journalists/pundits considered African Policy in their grade report/card. Bruce A. Dixon for the Black Agenda Report, one of the few people I have seen grading the President on African policy, gave him one out of five [vii]. I do not know if there are major initiatives in the works for Obama’s African policy. I sincerely hope so. But based on the selection of Ambassador Jonny Carson, a career diplomat noted for a track record of working in Africa, as Assistant Secretary State for African Affairs, I give the President a passing grade with an optimism that the administration will soon move “swiftly” to act on some of the pressing African issues and fulfill Obama’s campaign promises. It should also be noted here that Obama has followed through with his campaign promise to double overseas USAID which will be valuable in achieving the so called “Millennium Development Goals”. Of course only if African leaders can use it for intended, and most of the time unintended, purposes [viii].
American foreign policy on Africa usually focused disproportionately on short-term stability by embracing dictators. The Bush administration went even farther by subordinating the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law to terrorism concerns, a practice very much reminiscent of cold-war tactics, and thereby alienated the vast majority of freedom seeking Africans. In a recent article Jason McLure of the Newsweek detailed how cunning and enterprising African leaders like Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia used US concerns about terrorism not only to silence his domestic political opposition but also wage a costly war on another already battered and failed African state, Somalia, with huge humanitarian, financial and political cost. After 100 days in office Obama did not even indicate if he would make a departure from this approach that failed both Africans and Americans or continue with it with a slight twist by default.
In short, it remains to be seen if the Obama Administration’s policies will match the rhetoric, the great expectations and the universal goodwill that the President enjoys! Africans of all walks of life are looking up to him to deliver them from repression, war, poverty and HIV/Aids.
Ultimately it is up to Africans not Obama, to fix Africa’s mess. But a just, foresighted and generous hand of a powerful President of the powerful country won’t hurt.
Washington — Piracy and maritime security, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ethiopia, corruption, and freedom of the press — all important issues in the U.S.-Africa relationship — were addressed April 29 by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs-designate Johnnie Carson before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
As part of his confirmation hearing, Carson engaged in a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with senators on various aspects of the U.S.-Africa relationship. Carson is a career diplomat, former Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania and a lifelong friend of Africa. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Kenya (1999–2003), Zimbabwe (1995–1997) and Uganda (1991–1994) and in diplomatic posts in Portugal, Botswana, Mozambique and Nigeria.
Asked about ongoing piracy off the coast of Somalia, Carson said the problem is directly related to the absence of any government or law enforcement there and a breakdown of the formal and informal economy. The United States, he said, “needs to be positioned wherever we can with diplomatic representation in the region to help facilitate the efforts to find solutions … in Somalia.”
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, who chaired the hearing for the full committee, Democrat Russ Feingold, told Carson the United States needs “a full-court diplomatic push to engage a wide range of actors within Somalia and stakeholders in the wider region, both in the Horn of Africa and also in the Middle East.”
Carson said much of that push is already under way. “The United States is a part of a Contact Group of largely Western European and maritime powers working to devise rules and regulations that will improve the security of shipping through the Red Sea and the northern part of the Indian Ocean,” he told the lawmakers. The Contact Group has had a number of meetings “to work out details on how they can help address this issue.”
Carson cited “an unprecedented level of cooperation among navies of the world to deal with this issue,” and said the United States government has been very active in working with maritime shipping companies in the United States, encouraging them to adopt policies that will make it harder for pirates to capture or to attack their ships as they move through the region.
Asked about the appointment of President Obama’s new special envoy for Sudan, retired Air Force Major General Scott Gration, Carson termed that selection “a wonderful choice.” Carson described Gration as “a man who is very much dedicated to the job and the assignment that he has been given and a man who has an enormous amount of experience in Africa as well.”
Turning to Zimbabwe, Carson called it an “extraordinarily tragic” case. “We have seen Robert Mugabe take Zimbabwe, a once very successful, economically strong country, down to the lowest level. It is a country that has extraordinary agricultural and mineral potential. It has a citizenship that is broadly well educated for Africa. But under Robert Mugabe’s dictatorial, authoritarian leadership he has basically destroyed the country in order to maintain himself and a small group of leaders in power.”
Carson said the United States has “worked very hard” for change there and that effort has resulted in some progress. “We now have a transition government in place with the leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, serving as the prime minister, but Mugabe and the key leadership of [Mugabe’s political party] continue to control the instruments of power in that country … the intelligence services, the police and the military. They also have enormous control over the central bank and the reserve bank. Until we see changes in those areas, it is unlikely we will see any real change in the governance of that country.”
Looking at the political situation in Kenya, Carson called Kenya the “strongest partner” of the United States in the Horn of Africa. “We have our greatest economic ties there. We have our strongest military ties there as well, and it has been an important partner with the United States.” Carson added that the United States is “deeply concerned” over the stalemated political situation there and pledged that, if confirmed, he would do everything he could to help address the political impasse.
Asked to comment on reports of arbitrary arrests in Ethiopia, Carson acknowledged that “Ethiopia has, in fact, been a strong partner in the effort to combat extremism emanating from Somalia.” He added, however, that the United States “needs to have a broad and balanced relationship with Ethiopia — one that is based on a common set of shared ideals and principles based on democratic values.” He said it is “extremely important that Ethiopia … try not to close down its democratic space, that it allows its political opposition, its civil society to participate broadly in the political life of that country.” He also called for Ethiopia to allow a free press and trade unions to operate there.
On the broader issue of press freedom across the continent, Carson underlined the importance of a free press as a major pillar of democracy. He said press freedom has improved on the continent over the past 20 years, aided by the introduction of electronic media, telephones and Internet and radio broadcasts both local and international. A free press, he said, provides information and “a check on government excesses. It allows individuals to make their governments and organizations more accountable and is the backbone of good democracies.”
Carson said that, if confirmed, he will speak out against corruption, which he called a cancer on the economy of any country. Corruption is “particularly devastating on the African economies,” he said, “because they tend to be weak and small.” In too many places around the continent, Carson said, there is a misuse of resources that undermines the integrity of government budgets and development objectives.
Carson’s nomination must be confirmed by the full Senate.
Barack Obama told the American people that you couldn’t solve a 21st. century problem using a 19th. Century mind set. The old prescription by Bush and company weren’t working. He promised that he would look at the issues from a different perspective and introduce new rules and regulations appropriate to the times. He is doing just that. That is what is called leadership.
Our country Ethiopia is faced with the same old problems. Absence of participatory democracy is number one. The lack of democracy and the absence of respect for human rights have a cascading effect on all other national affairs. If the foundation is shaky the house will fall. A nation built on the whim of one man is no different. It is constantly teetering on the verge of catastrophe.
It is obvious that we do have lots of problems in Ethiopia. It is out there for all to see. There is no hiding it. The treasury is empty. The famine is relentless. Unemployment among the youth is double digits. The migration of the young and able goes unabated.
What are we doing about it? That is the shame of it all. The government in power is doing nothing or rather doing the wrong thing to solve the problems. The regime spends more time explaining why things went wrong instead of making things right. Famine is blamed on the weather, unemployment is blamed on international economy and lack of democracy is blamed on the opposition.
Hardly a week goes by without the regime uncovering some kind of nefarious plan to overthrow the ‘constitutional order’ what ever that means. You would think seventeen years is long enough for the cadre’s government to take roots. Seventeen years is time enough for a baby to be born, finish primary and secondary education and enter college. Seventeen years, and one is considered an adult. TPLF suffers from mental deficiency of the highest magnitude.
Judging from the activities of the regime it is easy to conclude that staying in power consumes more time than growing the economy and working for the welfare of the nation. The police state spends more resources in trying to root out perceived enemies. It is like so many enemies so little time.
Because we are constantly inundated by new charges, accusations and drama that we are forced to shrug it off. What now! is our question in unison? What now indeed? Just think of the last four or five months in the life of the TPLF regime.
· The Ethiopian Army was unceremoniously kicked out of Somalia.
· Somali Ethiopians were rounded up and thrown in jail.
· Judge Birtukan was taken back to Kaliti.
· Moneychangers were declared national enemy.
· Coffee merchants were accused of sabotage.
· Indicted criminal Bashir was thrown on our face.
· Ginbot 7 was charged with attempted coup.
Where do they find the time to govern? Managing the affairs of eighty million people is not a part time job. Managing a sick and backward nation is a very serious task. It seems like the TPLF regime has vowed not to let a week go by without finding new enemies. It looks like the flavor of the week is Ginbot 7.
It was with great fanfare that the regime displayed a few guns, explosive devices and an old computer that was allegedly seized by the security forces. Thirty-five people were hauled in front of good old Judge Adil or some one like him and thrown in jail. As usual the police asked for additional time to manufacture more evidence. Ato andargachew Tsgie’s father who is eighty years old is one of the alleged conspirators. Ato Muluneh Eyoel reminds us that this is the second encounter Ato Tsgie Hatemariam had with the Ethiopian government. Thirty years ago the Derge gunned down his young son and he was made to search for the body in a pile of victims and was charged $100 for the bullet. But soon after Derg cadres removed the body from the casket claiming the government is unwilling to release it to the family (http://ethioforum.org/wp/archives/987) It is so sad we have to witness such inhuman act against our father.
It is also an indication of the mindset of those in charge. It is a sure sign that their brain how ever small has frozen in time. It is unable, unwilling or refusing to move to a higher level of looking at the big picture. It is still set to function as a liberation front bent on fighting to liberate a village instead of governing a country. The fact that the war is over and now it is time to build and grow is refusing to sink in. TPLF is still fighting EPRP.
Using yesterday’s method to tackle today’s problem. That is TPLF in a nutshell. They are preparing for one of their show trials just like their mentor Stalin. They of course assume that those opposed to them are operating using the same old principle. How wrong they are. The Ginbot7 and Andenet we know seem to approach the problem from a completely different angle. They do not subscribe to palace coup, conspiracy, backroom deals or power at all cost. They believe in the slow deliberative process of teaching the people, working with the people and trusting the people. They are not into shortcuts. They do not convince the population by pointing out how rotten Woyane is but rather by what good they have to offer. They are not into setting out one tribe against the other but they are into including all under one tent. They are not about selling our sovereignty to the highest bidder but safeguarding our national integrity. They are the future Ethiopia.
The new way we fight oppression is completely different. It is not all about going into the bush and raising an army. It is not about coming from the countryside alone. That is an old and tired method. It is but a small component of the re liberation of our country. The new weapon of choice is empowering the people. It is about making people realize their collective power. It is about waking up that old Ethiopian spirit of pride and fierce nationalism. The Derge did a lot of damage to our national psych. Woyane has been trying to extinguish the flame of Ethiopiawenet.
The 2005 general elections woke up the sleeping giant. We in the Diaspora like our brethren at home have been infected with democratic fever. You cannot put the genie back in the bottle. We have built a lethal force that is growing by the day. There are patriotic groups organized in all continents. The new US Congress is getting ready to pick up the Ethiopian Human Rights bill, there are groups working on classifying Ethiopian coffee as ‘blood coffee’ just like ‘blood diamond’, there are Ethiopians working to teach World Bank and IMF about Woyane’s habit of confiscation of private property and there are citizens gathering evidence for International Court of Justice. We have become good at rallying our forces to petition your bankers to see the monster they have created. Sooner or later we will force them to do what is right. We mean to cut Woyane’s oxygen supply and suffocate the varmint. We can do it. We will do it. London was a show of force. There will be many London’s to come.
We understand all this noise coming out of Arat Kilo is to confuse the issue and cover up the utter failure of seventeen years of mismanagement. It is an attempt to get us out of focus. Do we fight for Judge Birtukan’s release; do we concentrate on the coffee debacle, publicize the lack of basic freedom before the coming elections or wonder about the so-called coup? TPLF is throwing all kinds of issues to distract us. TPLF would like to be a moving target. Too bad we are familiar with that game. We know the regime is the ultimate drama queen. The quintessential cry baby always blaming others for its own failures. The OLF is trying to destabilize me, the Eritreans are invading me, the jihadists are threatening me, Andenet does not exist and now Ginbot7 is using the army to overthrow the constitutional order.
Unfortunate for TPLF it is not just thirty-five people but more like thirty five million. It should be clear by now that there is no jail big enough to hold the opposition. We are all Ginbot7.
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — A Canadian man facing terrorism-related charges in Ethiopia and in detention since 2006 will take the defence stand next month, a judge said on Thursday.
Bashir Makhtal, an Ethiopian-born Canadian citizen, is accused of inciting rebellion by aiding and abetting armed opposition groups in Ethiopia and being a senior member of a rebel group.
“The accused should now prepare his defence for next hearing on May 26,” said Adam Ibrahim.
The 40-year-old, who has denied the charges, is also accused of supporting Somalia’s Islamist movement ousted by Ethiopian forces in early 2007 when they intervened in the neighbouring country to prop up its embattled government.
Mukhtal was among some 150 people detained by Kenyan forces in 2006 on the border with Somalia as they fled the Ethiopian onslaught on the Islamists.
The trial has been postponed several times this year due to prosecutors’ failure to provide witnesses.
Owner Emu Kidanewolde displays some of the entrees on the menu. [Baltimore Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor]
Elfegne Ethiopian Cafe is a peach. Owned and operated, pretty much single-handedly, by former mortgage broker Emu Kidanewolde, this small and tidy 20-seat storefront cafe is more than just a great place to feast on inexpensive home-cooked Ethiopian food. Elfegne also acts as a de facto community center for the residents of Washington Village (aka Pigtown). It opens at 7 in the morning for breakfast (Kidanewolde will have been there for hours already, making homemade injera, the fermented Ethiopian bread staple) and stays open through dinner. When we visited, a few neighbors had dropped in for a bite to eat but also to keep Kidanewolde company and even lend a hand. This was the day when the Susan Boyle video went viral, and all of us in the restaurant ended up watching it together on one of the neighbor’s laptops.
This was actually the second time we had tried to eat at Elfegne. The first time we came, the restaurant had been commandeered by a single group for a party. That was discouraging, but it suggested this scenario: A few people had fallen in love with Elfegne, had told a few other people about it, and then felt strongly enough about it to invite more people there for a celebratory dinner. It was worth coming back for.
The menu here is simple and streamlined, with only about a dozen or so entrees. The most familiar Ethiopian menu items here are beef and lamb tibs (sauteed cubed meat), wot (stew) and kitfo (raw or rare beef), but only in their most typical versions. So, where another restaurant might have five or six versions of tibs, Elfegne has two. This is actually a kind of relief. Ordering from an Ethiopian menu can be arduous, but here it was easy. It was even simpler because some items are only available on certain days. Kidanewolde only makes the elaborate dulet, with lamb tripe, on Saturday and doro wot, a chicken stew, on Monday. Lamb wasn’t being served on the Thursday when we visited. This system made sense to us – it both eases the burden on the kitchen and lets customers know that their food is being made from fresh meat and poultry.
The thing to get here is the half and half, which gives you a choice of two half-sized dishes, which will be presented together on a platter-sized sheet of injera. One of these choices could be the vegetable combination – gently spiced lentils, yellow peas, collard greens – and the other a meat-based dish. The beef tibs is a fine choice. This is a deceptively simple dish, just cubes of beef sauteed with onions and green pepper in an awaze, the paste made from the berbere pepper. But Elfegne’s version really looked and tasted fresh and homemade.
Kitfo is a little more challenging in that it’s made, usually, from raw beef. Blended with herbed butter and garnished with a dried red-pepper powder, this makes for a tremendously rich and satisfying meal. Kidanewolde also offers a cooked version of kitfo, but if you can handle raw food, order it that way.
We liked our other dishes, too; the bozena shiro, a nourishing and savory meat stew made typically from a powder made of chick peas, but at Elfegne with fava beans; and the quanta fitfit, which tosses dried, jerkylike strips of beef with strips of injera, vegetables and seasoned butter. We enjoyed a refreshing lettuce and tomato salad before the main meal but made the mistake of filling up on too much fermented bread. Elfegne also serves smoothies, homemade ginger iced tea and the best cup of coffee I’ve had in a restaurant in months.
We want to go back to Elfegne for breakfast someday, for an omelet or a bowl of steamed cracked wheat, or the bowl of mashed beans and vegetables that our friend with the laptop says sustains him throughout the day.
The Woyanne regime in Ethiopia is currently on a witch-hunt, arresting several military officers whom it is suspecting of supporting {www:Ginbot 7}.
Shocked by the level of infiltration in the military by Ginbot 7, Meles Zenawi’s tribal junta seems to be considering all non-Tigran officer as possible opposition supporters.
The highest ranking officer to be arrested so far is Gen. Teferra Mammo. But Woyanne officials says that several lower ranking officers, including colonels, have been arrested and more are expected to be rounded up… [more in Amharic]
