“Lies, lies and implausible lies,” blasted Meles Zenawi, the enfant terrible of Ethiopia, in describing the March 11, 2010 U.S. State Department’s “Reports on Human Rights Practices” on Ethiopia. Apparently, the U.S. State Department is not worth a damn when it comes to lying: “The least one could expect from this report, even if there are lies is that they would be plausible ones,” snarled Zenawi. “But that is not the case. It is very easy to ridicule it [report], because it is so full of loopholes (sic). They could very easily have closed the loopholes and still continued to lie.” His consigliere, Bereket Simon chimed in, “It is the same old junk. It’s a report that intends to punish the image (sic) of Ethiopia and try if possible to derail the peaceful and democratic election process.”
So here is a representative sample of the implausible, ridiculous and junk lies of the U.S. State Department and the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth of Zenawi’s dictatorship:
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #1:
There were numerous credible reports of unlawful detention of opposition candidates and their supporters. Opposition UDJ party president Birtukan Mideksa, whose pardon was revoked and life sentence reinstated in December 2008, remained in prison throughout the year. She was held in solitary confinement until June, despite a court ruling that indicated it was a violation of her constitutional rights.She was also denied access to visitors except for a few close family members, despite a court order granting visitor access without restrictions. There were credible reports that Birtukan’s mental health deteriorated significantly during the year.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #1:
A humongous L I E! Birtukan is actually at the “Akaki Hilton Spa and Resort” doing R&R (rest and relaxation). Her health situation is in perfect condition. She may have gained a few kilos, but other than that, and that may be for lack of exercise, she is in perfect health. All the lies about Birtukan’s bad health situation are made up by the “usual suspects” who shall remain nameless. She is not denied access to visitors, but she is shy and prefers to visit only with her mother and daughter. In short, she is having the time of her life. Or as the French say, “C’est la Vie!”
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #2:
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their government peacefully. In local and by-elections held in 2008, virtually all of the more than three million seats open at the federal and local levels were taken unopposed by the ruling EPRDF and allied parties. Of the 3.6 million local and by-election seats open to be contested, opposition parties won three.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #2:
The State Department should know better than telling this ridiculous lie. The opposition won only 3 seats because “there is no alternative in the opposition.” Everybody knows that including “most Western governments [who] want Meles to continue because there is no alternative in the opposition. As long as the elections are semi-democratic, they’ll probably stay quiet, keep giving aid, hope for liberalisation of the economy and leave full democracy for later.” Here is a hint: Theopposition will completely lose again in next month’s election regardless of how many candidates they run because they don’t understand a simple fact about elections: “The people who cast the votes do not decide an election; the people who count the votes do.”
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #3:
Although the constitution and law prohibit the use of torture and mistreatment, there were numerous credible reports that security officials tortured, beat, and mistreated detainees. Opposition political party leaders reported frequent and systematic abuse and intimidation of their supporters by police and regional militias… Abuses reportedly include being hung by the wrists for several hours, bound by chains and beaten, held in solitary confinement for several days to weeks or months, subjected to mental torture such as harassment and humiliation…
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #3:
Lies! Torture is a matter of semantics. The alleged torture-victims in the State Department report have an unusually low threshold for psychological and physical pain and discomfort. They also exaggerate stuff. The truth is that the so-called torture-victims are all wusses and wimps. Intimidation is a state of mind as is solitary confinement. Some people just scare easy. Individuals in solitary confinement are not really “solitary” because they can talk to themselves all day and all night. It is a bold-faced lie for the State Department to say, “the [“Ethiopian”] constitution and law prohibit the use of torture and mistreatment.”
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #4:
The country has three federal and 117 regional prisons. There are several unofficial detention centers operating throughout the country. Prison and pretrial detention center conditions remained harsh and in some cases life threatening. Severe overcrowding was common, especially in sleeping quarters. Juveniles were often incarcerated with adults, sometimes with adults who were awaiting execution. Men and women prisoners were generally, but not always, separated… The government continued to prevent International Committee of the Red Cross representatives from visiting police stations and federal prisons throughout the country including those where opposition, civil society, and media leaders were held.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #4:
Lies, dirty lies! The so-called prisons are actually popular spas and resorts, as Birtukan can testify. The reason they are “severely overcrowded” is because of high popular demand. It’s “la dolce vita” (the sweet life) as they say in Italian in those spas, or “c’est la vie” as they say in French. As to juveniles, women and condemned prisoners being held together, what difference does that make? A criminal is a criminal is a criminal. The Red Cross? They are too nosy, always asking questions. Shouldn’t they be helping out flood, earthquake and disaster victims somewhere else instead of sniffing around spas and resorts?
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #5:
Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, the government frequently did not observe these provisions in practice… The federal police acknowledged that many of its members as well as regional police lacked professionalism. In July the Addis Ababa Police Commission fired 444 staff members, including high-ranking officials, for involvement in serious crimes including armed robbery, rape, and theft. There were no prosecutions of those dismissed.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #5:
Another pack of lies! The State Department is putting words and numbers in the mouths of the Police Commission. The allegedly “fired” police officials are still in their jobs continuing to do armed robbery, rape, and theft.
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #5:
Authorities regularly detained persons without warrants and denied access to counsel and family members, particularly in outlying regions. Although the law requires detainees to be brought to court and charged within 48 hours, this generally was not respected in practice… While in pretrial detention, authorities allowed such detainees little or no contact with legal counsel. Police continued to enter private residences and arrest individuals without warrants.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #6:
First of all, the whole due process thing is overrated. Lawyers, warrants, procedure and all that legal mumbo jambo are a big waste of time. The applicable principle is that one is presumed guilty until proven innocent. So, why do guilty people need lawyers? It does not make sense. Why should warrants be required to arrest guilty people? Anyway, even if these people did not commit a crime, they definitely thought about committing one. They are guilty, guilty, guilty! The State Department is obviously pushing some new-fangled Western idea that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. What a bunch of liars!
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #7:
In May the director general of the Federal Police reported that 65 percent of the 45,000 criminal cases filed at the federal first instance court in 2008 were eventually dropped due to lack of evidence or witnesses…. There was a large backlog of juvenile cases, and accused children often remained in detention with adults until officials heard their cases.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #7:
As the old saying goes, there are lies, damned lies and statistics. The State Department is fabricating false statistics to show that the regime is going soft on criminals. That is a lie! It is a well-known fact that a criminal case is filed only after a person has been convicted of committing a crime. To claim that nearly 30,000 cases were dropped for lack of evidence is to unfairly suggest that the vast majority of those charged were not guilty. How could that be so? The director general of the Federal Police never reported such statistics. It is all a figment of the State Department’s warped imagination.
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #8:
Political party leaders reported incidents of telephone tapping and other electronic eavesdropping. In May a former employee of ETC, the state-run monopoly telecom and Internet provider, reported from self-imposed exile that the government had ordered ETC employees to unlawfully record citizens’ private telephone conversations… The government used a widespread system of paid informants to report on the activities of particular individuals. Kebele officials have been reported to go from house to house demanding that residents attend ruling coalition meetings. Those persons who do not attend party meetings reportedly have difficulty obtaining basic public services from their kebeles.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #8:
Ding, dong! All lies told by paranoid opposition leaders who are afraid of their own shadows. By using the phrases “widespread system of paid informants”, “forced attendance of party meetings”, etc., the State Department unfairly suggests that the country has become a police state. Not true! If they had done their “investigations” right and interviewed the “informants”, they would have easily found out that the “informants” are actually researchers doing field studies in social anthropology using “participant observation” techniques. Kebele officials never force people to attend party meetings. The people just love to party and show up uninvited.
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #9:
During the year the government loosened restrictions on the delivery of food aid from donor organizations into the five zones of the Somali region in which military activity was the most intense. Approximately 83 percent of food aid reached beneficiaries, a significant improvement from the previous year.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #9:
Liars! The State Department in its usual manner is cooking up numbers. No food aid reached beneficiaries in the five zones of the Somali region.
Implausible, Ridiculous and Junk Lie #10:
The government restricted academic freedom during the year. Authorities did not permit teachers at any level to deviate from official lesson plans and actively discouraged political activity and association of any kind on university campuses. Frequent reports continued of uniformed and plainclothes police officers on and around university and high school campuses. College students were reportedly pressured to pledge allegiance to the EPRDF to secure enrollment in universities or postgraduation government jobs. Non-EPRDF members were also reportedly denied teachers’ benefits, transferred to undesirable posts, and restricted in promotions.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth #10:
Ha! Who would believe in their right minds anything those fog-headed college students and their absentminded professors say? There is a good reason why they are not allowed to engage in politics or deviate from the official lesson plan. We know from personal experience decades ago that you if give students and their professors an inch, they will take a mile. If you give them “academic freedom”, they will soon be yapping in the streets for speech freedom, press freedom, associational freedom, assembly freedom and all sorts of other freedoms. That is just too much freedom for those crazy students and their air-headed professors to handle.
It is just too bad the U.S. State Department can’t handle the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!
Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney based in Los Angeles. He writes a regular blog on The Huffington Post, and his commentaries appear regularly on pambazuka.org, allafrica.com, newamericamedia.org and other sites.
First, I would like to thank those who organized this meeting—Advocacy for Ethiopia and the Ethiopian National Priorities Consultative Process for their excellent job in creating this historic event. We need more meetings like this and I hope it is beginning to not only talk, but that it will lead to action that will benefit all of us. It has been a wonderful experience so far to come together to listen, to learn and to hear different views on a region of the world about which we all care deeply.
I was asked to talk about the campaign to end impunity. I changed the title just a bit to: Embracing Truth: A Means to End a Culture of Impunity in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
The reason is that impunity is about hiding or denying the truth. Jesus said, “The truth shall set us free.” If this is true, then the lack of truth will enslave us. The lack of truth has been enslaving us for over sixty years and will continue to enslave us until we deal with it head on and begin to embrace truth in every part and sector of our society. Ethiopia has become a culture where lies, deception, cover-up, hidden motives and blatant injustice cover up countless deeds of evil. In such a culture of impunity, the worst actions of the powerful are rewarded and the best, most courageous and most honest of our people are punished for their attempts to expose the truth.
Impunity is also encouraged where people hold to rigid assumptions about the greater worth and dignity of oneself and one’s own select group, in relation to the lesser worth and dignity of another human being, which may be based on ethnicity, regionalism, political alliances, religion, gender, skin color, education and other superficial distinctives. It makes it easier to exclude, exploit and abuse those you devalue and dehumanize while justifying your own and your group’s self-interests; particularly feeling that you should not have to be held accountable for what you do.
Consider our past:
* Feudalism and crimes of Haile Selassie
* Red Terror
* Meles—pattern of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes:
* 2003 Anuak genocide—no one yet brought to justice
* 2005 election—no one yet brought to justice
* Current genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against humanity in the Ogaden
For the last sixty years, no one has been found accountable in this country. Impunity has reigned under every regime. Our current culture of impunity is founded on history and has become a sign of a deeply dysfunctional system that is destroying us.
Impunity often begins with wanting something. Instead of working for it or accepting that we cannot have it, we try to get it in the wrong way and trample on someone else’s rights in the process. These desires can be powerful and caving in to them has led many into trouble. Once in trouble, we fear being discovered and being held responsible for what we have done. The best decision is to face up to the truth and accept the consequences of our actions; however, oftentimes, this is not easy. Many do not want to pay the penalty for what they have done and if they are in a position of power, they use that power to escape accountability.
Impunity is all about the desire to cover up for one’s wrongdoing—to “get away with it!” This can also include covering up for one’s family, clan, ethnic group or cronies. This is one of the oldest flaws of human nature; first recorded in the very first chapters of the Biblical book of Genesis. God had told Adam and Eve they could eat of any tree in the garden but one. The serpent tempted them, but they gave in to the desire. Eve ate first and then Adam. When God asked Adam if he had eaten the apple, did he accept responsibility? No, he blamed Eve. When God questioned Eve, did she admit? No, she blamed the serpent.
The first crime—a murder—was committed by Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, who killed his brother, Abel. Cain covered up the murder and tried to hide from God but could not. When God asked him about his brother, he became angry and defensive, trying to cover up by not answering the question; instead asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” It is called deception. God said his brother’s blood cried out and that Cain would be banished. Cain still was not sorry for what he had done, but only expressed self-pity and worry about himself. How far have we come since? Not very far for it is our problem we face today.
The attitude of wanting to cover-up one’s own crimes or to blame someone else is part of every human experience, but usually, in well functioning, healthy societies, families, communities, one’s own conscience, religious institutions and the rule of law hold people accountable. The laws are just, fair and equally applied to all members of society, regardless of power, privilege, wealth or position. No one is above the law—even those at the top—and it prevents most people from committing crimes because they fear the expected penalties. Under these circumstances, societies can flourish with most citizens voluntarily complying. Justice is predictable and not dependent on the political calculations of any powerful individual or group. Peoples’ trust in the institutions increases to the benefit of all.
Now, go to the opposite negative extreme and you get Ethiopia where those on top can do as they please. The guilty are found innocent and the innocent can be found guilty. In Ethiopia, what kind of justice you get depends on whether or not you are a part of the: “inside family of the TPLF,” part of the TPLF repressive system of puppets all over the country or simply call yourself a government supporter, if only in name. On the negative side, if you are an outspoken critic, a political opponent, a resistor of something the TPLF wants, or simply a scapegoat for someone else, you can be assured of being treated as an enemy of the state.
Let’s go back in history. During the empire, a few elite on top totally escaped being held accountable for any of their crimes, which were many. It was the reason the Ethiopian people rose up in a revolution that brought Haile Selassie down. Then Mengistu came in and again, those at the top who were guilty of committing many crimes against the people, escaped justice. When the oppressed people of Ethiopia rose up against him, he brutally clamped down on the people and his regime became known for the “Red Terror.”
Human rights experts estimate that maybe 500,000—half a million people—were killed during his era in power. Now we have Meles and people are again rising up against a system of impunity and terror. It is only a matter of time before history repeats itself as is being done in many other places; for example in Kyrgyzstan, where the people overthrew the government only a few days ago.
In Ethiopia, the rule of law has failed for over sixty years. It affects every sector of society and until it is fixed, Ethiopia will never rise up out of its misery. It is a systemic problem based on denying the truth, making immoral choices, elitism and dehumanizing everyone but yourself and your particular group.
What Can Be Done?
We do not have to wait for regime change to hold the guilty responsible for their crimes. Even this conference is a means to break down impunity by exposing what is happening. At some later date, there may be charges, trials, reparations and methods of transitional justice—all of which we should be thinking about—but for now, I would like to mainly concentrate on the following immediate actions:
Exposure, Exposure, Exposure: Impunity weakens under exposure!
a. Show truth, inconsistencies, illegal practices, vulnerabilities where they exist now and make it public; holding parties accountable where possible.
b. Collect info from the ground—must go to some work to gather ACCURATE information from as many areas/regions as possible and should include: testimonies, reports, facts, pictures, video.
c. Research- so have a factual basis for efforts both now and in the future where information will be important. For instance, Genocide watch interviewed victims and witnesses within approximately six weeks of the genocide, making the information much more reliable than trying to do it now.
d. Develop teams/ think tanks to work on specific important areas of their expertise; for example, money laundering, privatization of national monopolies, foreign investment (land, mineral rights, water, oil, etc), environment, transitional justice, security, etc.
e. Research laws, applications and appropriate legal resources that could be utilized now within and outside of Ethiopia.
f. Use Media to get info out and to provide new facts, research and incidents.
g. Target strategic groups (donor govt.s, NGO’s, faith groups, multinational corporations, etc- get info to best groups for actions and ask for specific actions. Some groups already know the truth, but until it is exposed publicly, they won’t do anything-find out what that is—there may be a threshold where once it is crossed, this regime becomes a liability rather than an asset.
h. Hold as many perpetrators and those complicit with them, accountable now
1. Make it public: list those who are guilty or complicit –name who is who and who is doing what
2. Make clear to them what can happen as a consequence now or later
3. See if you can hold those co-conspirators, outside of Ethiopia, accountable by laws of their own country
Do the Same in all Sectors of Ethiopian Society: The tentacles of impunity reach to every sector of Ethiopian Society; the entire system is broken and should be confronted:
1. Government/parliament
2. Election, election board, voting, observers, etc
3. Business-dealings where Impunity may not last
a. Ethiopia—wide-scale corruption
b. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)-
c. Ethiopia an at-risk country for money laundering, terroristic funding
d. Expose bribes, kickbacks, deals, etc
e. Expose consequences of doing business through impunity
4. Justice – expose names of judges, prosecutors, practices
5. Banking and finance, national treasure, monopolies
6. Land/mineral/natural resources
7. Development
8. Human rights
9. Educational system
10. Military
11. Religious groups (encouraged to stand against systemic impunity, injustice, oppression, corruption, repression)
Rationale for SMNE: Why I became part of this Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia
* the old Ethiopia is unacceptable
* Rationale: Many of my people killed and reason I became involved was because the survival of my people depend on everyone else—a system
* Learned, we Ethiopians are not exception, but instead, like other countries that have hurt others
* Led to form something to speak out about everyone and so created solidarity movement
* Based on moral principles because only way to de-construct impunity is from the inside out!
* Only the healing of a system of oppression and injustice will bring about a New Ethiopia
* Begins with a flawed mindset based on lies; must be replaced with God-given truth
Principles to freedom, justice and to ending impunity
1. Humanity before ethnicity–Impunity made us lose our humanity or Ethiopian-ness (some don’t like name Ethiopia, but among the marginalized, I am among the most marginalized. To genuinely stop impunity, must start with ourselves, with me first. Then take it to the grass roots. To me to acknowledge my part of society, is like recognizing that each of us makes up a part of the body of Ethiopia. When wound in the body, the body is not functioning as it should. The killing of my people pushed me to reach out to Ethiopians, not sweeping the problems under the carpet, but to create a healthier society, we must try to change and correct what is creating the wounds. This is why SMNE created. We are willing to work with everybody, but we will never compromise and become part of the fake unity. No unity is better than chameleon unity where walk on others to get what you want. Faking unity is a tool to deceptively carry on impunity and I will never be part of this.
2. No one is free until all are free
a. Must break the pattern of Serial exclusion: One tribe take all or it’s ‘my group’s’ time to eat, which means, it’s your turn to suffer now (rationale for last regimes’ cruelty and selfishness towards others) For marginalized, it is ALWAYS their turn to suffer.
b. Inclusion of all citizens only way to break impunity and bring about sustainable freedom, justice and opportunity.
1. Impunity has always been a part of exclusionary dictatorships — Haile-Selassie, Mengistu, Meles
2. Must change system—based on flawed thinking—in every sector of the system; this is not just about Meles
3. Assumptions of entitled or non-entitled participants in politics and power are rigid, outdated and must be challenged
4. Equal opportunity and fair distribution of services, etc based on citizenship; not tribe
c. Unity in fight is NOT for unity’s sake, but FOR principles that will free us!
1. What we think matters—our fight against exclusionary practices starts with replacing flawed thinking
2. —the less tolerance we have as a society for exclusion, impunity, deception and lies and, the greater success we will have as a society!
3. the more widespread the support for inclusion and equal justice under the law—the more quickly we will overcome impunity and what has kept Ethiopia in the dark ages for too long!
3. Greed and Ego are the foundation of wrongdoing.
a. Impunity is about covering up for something after choose the wrong thing. Effective and strong institutions can create an atmosphere of respect and compliance with the law or obligation to adequately resolve wrongdoing when social rules or the law is broken
b. Society also has to be ready to confront and hold others accountable.
c. Moral restraints and expectations needed to heal past mistakes and offenses; including remorse and efforts to correct the wrongdoing
4. Strong Rule of law discourages wrongdoing: especially for those of little conscience, who would commit crimes if could get away with it. Getting caught and having to pay the penalty is a deterrent and sometimes enough to prevent many from breaking the law in the first place.
5. High cultural social value on: truth, moral courage, responsibility and humility with accountability, justice and grace and no-tolerance for: impunity, exclusive politics, corruption and deception—both working together will genuinely break down walls of many years of impunity and repair a broken system
6. Start with oneself: If want genuine ending of impunity, each of us must purposely seek it in one’s self and in expectations of others.
I am not here for a political motive, but I am here for a healthy society for when we have a healthy society; then such a society will include my children—where there is not discrimination, but opportunity, where there is no impunity, but equal justice. This can be your goal as well; together we can bring about a healthier society.
May God help us end our destructive culture of impunity, to find healing from the wounds of our past and to bring about a society that embraces truth, righteous behavior towards others and accountability for our own actions. May the truth truly set us free! Thank
(Obang Metho, is the Executive Director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia, [email protected])
Your browser may not support display of this image. Since the 1974 revolution, Ethiopia has witnessed cycles of unimaginable violence. City streets as well as remote villages that are normally far from the influence of the brutal political elites in the center have been washed with blood and littered with the bones of tormented men and women. The tragic 1974 revolution was not just a bumpy transition from a feudo-capitalist monarchy to a more progressive system as we were told time and again. It was also the beginning of untold brutality that has still continued to haunt us. It is a story of man against man, comrade against comrade, citizen against citizen…. It was simply akin to what the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes called a state of nature, where “men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man.” In the state of nature life was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Upon the invitation of the Stanford Ethiopian and Eritrean Students Association, Maaza Mengiste came to Stanford University last Friday to share her own story and read a passage from her well acclaimed first novel, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze. She spoke with a mellifluous and passionate voice, not like a fiction writer but as someone who was amidst the turmoil witnessing all the horrors and brutalities that tormented and ruptured her homeland.
Oscar Wild once said, “Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it.” The wise man was only half right as women like Maaza are writing history with incredibly powerful imagination. Though it is quite rare to find young ladies flipping through the horror stories of political violence, Maaza was among a few exceptions immersed deeply into revolutions around the world. She read books and watched films about political upheavals in Latin America, Middle East and Africa. She tried to understand human nature in the course of bloody political upheavals.
When her friends were out reveling and partying, she used to spend days and nights reading and writing about a bloodcurdling part of human history. The Ethiopian Revolution was particularly fascinating to her. But her fascination did not end there. After five years of painful emotional journey, her story came out earlier this year as a novel that vividly depicts what happened during the height of the violence.
For Maaza, the horrors and tragedies of the 1974 Ethiopian revolution started to unfold when she was a graduate student. After all, she fled Ethiopia with her family when she was around four during the height of the turmoil. She lived in Nigeria, Kenya and the United States as an exile. When she left Ethiopia, she had only faint memories of the turmoil, slogans of students, marching soldiers, sounds of gunshots, frays and grieving mothers wailing frantically around her neighbourhood.
Until she joined New York University’s graduate creative writing programme in 2005, she hardly wrote anything serious about Ethiopia. But as part of her graduate school work, she made her fist effort. Based on her faint childhood memories, she wrote an 11-page short story about the horrors of the violent revolution that shattered close-knit families across the country. In spite of the fact that the short story was her small debut that broke her silence and brought out her memories, it raised more questions and stirred the curiosity of her classmates. As a result, she began to delve into the grim history researching intensely, weaving the story spinning facts and imagination without any chronological order.
Like a jigsaw puzzle, she assembled the long but gripping story about the popular revolution hijacked by a brutal military junta that copied acts of atrocity from the Bolsheviks and unleashed the Red Terror campaign to silence any forms of dissent and resistance. The more she researched into Ethiopia’s ugly past, the more she was sucked into the torture chambers and the killing fields.
Maaza found writing the book not only a daunting task but also an emotionally disturbing experience. Adding gloom to her personal story was the fact that she was just a poor young woman in New York City who could not even afford a decent writing desk and a warm home. Her favourite place to write was a small café in her neighbourhood. At times, her tears would stream down her tender cheeks while writing about torture and brutal killings. Some customers used to offer her a cup coffee to console her but others feared to approach her thinking that she was out of her mind.
Beneath the Lions’s Gaze is told from the perspective of a medical doctor’s family caught up in the upheavals. Dr. Hailu, who got involved in the tragic revolutionary fervent when he helped a victim of torture, is the main character. To make matters worse, Hailu’s youngest son, Dawit, was radicalized and became a member of an underground student movement that was a target of the killing squads. It was the disturbing history affecting the protagonists of the time of terror, fear, sorrow, anguish and tragedy that has become the central plot of Maaza’s novel.
Maaza’s daring work has received raving reviews in major publications across the US. It is a rare feat for an Ethiopian writer to enter the literary world with standing ovation. The New Yorker said: “Mengiste’s social intelligence and historical research allow her to write compassionately about emotions denatured by brutal regime or calcified by conviction. But the real marvel of this tender novel is its coiled plotting, in which coincidence manages to evoke the colossal emotional toll of the revolution.”
There is a powerful lesson to be learned from history. As Maaza has powerfully resurrected memories of a tragic segment of our history, we need to reflect on the past and envision the future. Ethiopia is still a nation of uncertainties, a powder keg whose future can be as rapturous as its terrifying past. The nation has gone though the excruciating pains of a violent revolution and a protracted civil war that brought about more calamities, famine, divisions and genocidal killings. The stable and prosperous country that the young revolutionary idealists had hoped to build is still a far cry. Their immeasurable sacrifices have been fruitless and their clarion calls for land to the tiller, equality, justice and freedom have never been answered.
“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” as the philosopher George Santayana said. The doom and gloom of Ethiopia perpetuated by tyrants, past and present, must end somewhere if we are really willing to learn from our terrible history of violence and brutality. It is an unacceptable truth for a nation to suffer for nearly a century under three diminutive despots, the king, the army officer and the narrow-minded ethnocrat.
Today Ethiopia is standing at the crossroads of history. It is heavily pregnant with a burning desire for change that can trigger a sudden eruption at any time. Whether we like it or not, the call for change will be answered and the volcano of anger and frustration suppressed by tyranny will eventually. In the face of a tyrannical resistance to change, the peaceful way seems to have lesser chance of success than the curse of violence and vengeance that has already destroyed our rich history and heritage. As John F. Kennedy said: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.”
Revolution is a process; first it is conceived in the hearts of true believers, it becomes contagious spread to the masses and in the final phase it explodes like a volcano. No guns and tanks have managed to stop real revolutions throughout history.
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, which is a tale of brutality and cruelty in “revolutionary” Ethiopia, is a must read for those who want to understand tortured nations like Ethiopia in a better and deeper way. History has a lot to teach…
The Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF) recently held its general assembly meeting and made a number of major decisions that affect its activities inside the country and around the world. One of the major decisions the general assembly made was to elect 17 new central committee members from the Diaspora and streamline its activities around the world. This was done to eliminate once and for all any doubt as to who is in charge of EPPF in the Diaspora, which was plagued by confusion and other problems.
The following are statements released by EPPF (Amharic):
Conference on Good Governance, Peace, Security, Sustainable Development in the Horn of Africa, 9-11 April 2010, Washington DC, Doubletree Hotel, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA
The conference is organized by Organized by Advocacy for Ethiopia (AFE) and Ethiopian National Priorities Consultative Process (ENPCP). Co-sponsors: Trans Africa Forum and Africa Action
TENTATIVE PROGRAM
FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2010
9:00-10:00 Registration
10:00- 12:30 Plenary session
Opening and Welcome by Ambassador (Ret) Imru Zeleke, Chairperson of ENPCP and Dr Gezahegn Bekele, Executive Director of AFE
Session chairs: Ambassador (Ret) Ayalew Mandefro and Dr Getachew Metaferia
Forum for Keynote Speakers and Guest Speakers:
Congressman Chris Smith (Expected)
A Representative from the US State Department (Expected)
A Distinguished Guest Speaker from Ethiopia (Expected)
Ambassador Princeton N. Lyman, Senior Fellow of CFR (Expected)
Mr. Gerald LeMell, Executive Director, Africa Action
Ms Emira Woods, Director Foreign Policy in Focus (IPS)
Discussants: Professor Getachew Begashaw & Professor Berhanu Nega
12:30 – 1:30 LUNCH BREAK
1:30 -3:30 Guest Speakers: continuation
Session chair: Mrs Wassy Tesfa , (AFE)
(1) Ambassador David Shinn, Former US Ambassador to Ethiopia, Challenges facing the countries in the Horn of Africa
(2) Dr. Terrence Lyons, George Mason University, Ethiopian Elections: Past and Future
(3) Professor Emeritus Theodore Vestal, Oklahoma State University Governance and Human Rights in Ethiopia
Discussant: Dr Aklog Birara
3:30-4:00 COFFEE BREAK
4:00-6:30 Panel Discussion: United States Policy towards Ethiopia
Session Chair: Dr Msmaku Asrat
Panelists:
(1) Ms. Imani Countess, Senior Director for Public Affairs, TransAfrica
(2) Ms. Niemat Ahmadi, Liason Officer, Save Darfur Coalition
(3) US policy towards the Horn of Africa, Mr Gregory Simpkins, Vice President for Policy & Program Development, Leon Sullivan Foundation.
(4) Center for Strategic and International Studies (Expected)
(5) Professor George Ayittey, Free Africa Foundation
Question and Answer
Discussant: Professor Berhanu Mengistu
SATURDAY APRIL 10, 2010
9:00-12:00 Plenary Session
Welcome and Introduction: Mrs. Wassy Tesfa (AFE)
Session Chair: Ato Negussie Mengesha,
Guest Speaker: Honorable Anna Gomes, Member of the European Parliament
Panel Discussion: Ideology and Political Governance
Session Chairs: Professor Getachew Begashaw & Ato Negussie Mengesha
Panelists:
(1) Towards a political roadmap for peace & stability, Dr Msmaku Asrat
(2) The Ethiopian State and the elite: Past and Present, Dr Aregawi Berhe
(3) Ethiopia: the land of missed opportunities, Professor Berhanu Nega
(4) The dialectics of multi-cultural-ism: reconciling the two nationalisms, Ato Jawar Siraj Mohammed
(5) The legacy of radicalism and the fragmentation of politics in Ethiopia, Professor Messay Kebede
Question and Answer
12:00-1:00 LUNCH BREAK
1:00-3:00 CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Session #1 Venue #1 Eritrea and Ethiopia
Session Chairs: Professor Minga Negash and Ato Fekade Shewakena
Presenters
(1) Time for Reflection: Taking stock of the costs of the status quo in Ethio-Eritrean relations and charting a new path forward, Professor Shumet Sishagne
(2) New relationship between Eritreans & Ethiopians: A view from Eritrea, Ato Amanuel Biedemariam
(3) Access to the sea as a source of conflict and development, Professor Getachew Begashaw.
(4) Eritrea and Ethiopia:- peace and security, Professor Berhe Habte Giorgis
Question and Answer
Session #2: The Horn of Africa
Session chairs: Ato Kidane Alemayehu and Professor Messay Kebede
(1) Peace and security in the Horn of Africa, Mr. Yussuf Kalib, Horn of Africa Peace and Development Center, Dallas, Texas
(2) Ethnic federalism and one-party rule in Ethiopia:-Lessons for the Horn of Africa, Ato Ephrem Madebo
(3) Can Ethiopia be the center of gravity for Horn of Africa peace, good governance and development? Professor Seid Samatar (Expected)
(4) Prospects for the Horn of Africa confederation, Ato Gizachew Zewdu.
(5) Development & environmental sustainability in the Horn of Africa, Mr. Phil Aroneanu, 350.0rg Climate Justice Movement
Question and Answer
3:00-3:20 COFFEE BREAK
3:20 -5:20 CONCURRENT SESSIONS: FOCUS ETHIOPIA
Venue Room #1: Conflict Prevention and Resolution
Session chairs: Mr. Jawar Siraj Mohammed & Dr Kassa Ayalew
(1) Ethiopia in the New Millennium: Issues of Democratic Governance, Dr Solomon Getahun.
(2) Contemporary Ethiopian politics:- similarity and differences between Ethiopian political organizations, Ato Gizaw Legesse
(3) Conflict resolution attempts by successive Ethiopian Governments, Professor Berhanu Mengistu.
(4) Legal education as an instrument of conflict prevention, Dr. Abigail Salisbury
(5) Three initiatives for conflict prevention & resolution, Ambassador Ayalew Mandefro
Question and Answer
Venue Room #2: Economic development & corporate governance
Session chair: Professor Seid Hassan & Ato Betru Gebregziabher
(1) Unemployment, poverty and self employment in urban Ethiopia, Dr Getinet Haile.
(2) The pros and cons of leasing land to foreign investors, Professor Alemlante Gebre-Selassie
(3) The land grab in Ethiopia: economic, social and environmental consequences, Ato Fekade Shewakena
(4) The crisis of development theory and its implications for Ethiopia, Dr. Fekadu Bekele (Expected).
(5) The agency and ownership problems of Ethiopia’s political party owned enterprises: some policy options, Professor Minga Negash
Question and Answer
5:20-7:20 Panel Discussion:-Government accountability and civil society
Session chair: Dr. Migenet Shiferaw
Panelists:
(1) Dr. Erku Yimer & Dr Teshome Tadesse, On the role of civil society organizations in democratization and development.
(2) Ms Agere Alehegn, “The Role of Civil Society in Promoting Women’s Participation in Political Organizations
(3) Dr Abeba Fekade, Which roads Ethiopia; to justice, freedom and peace? A call to Ethiopian women.
(4) Ms Yalemzewd Bekele Mulat, “The Impact of the Charities and Societies Proclamation No. 621/2009 of Ethiopia (the Civil Society Law) on the coming 2010 elections”
(5) Ato Girmay Gizaw, “The Birtukan Factor”.
(6) Ato Obang Metho, The campaign to end impunity in Ethiopia (Expected)
Question and Answer
SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010
10:00AM -12:15 PM Panel Discussion
Venue Room #1 Panel Discussion: Politics, Freedom of the Press, the media
Session Chairs: W/o Tizeta Belachew & Ato Mulugeta Lule
(1) United Front and Coalition building: Lessons Learned, Dr. Mulugeta Syoum
(2) Ethnic federalism and child health care outcomes in Ethiopia, Ato Henoch Fente
(3) Press freedom, academic freedom and elections, Ato Abebe Gellaw
(4) The Role Ethiopian Diaspora media, Ato Abebe Belew
(5) TPLF’s media control and the freedom of Ethiopians, Ato Tekle Mikael Sahle Mariam
Questions and Answers
12:00-1:30 Lunch with Honorable Anna Gomez
(Limited number of tickets are available, by request and invitation only)
1:30- 3:00 PUBLIC MEETING
CRYSTAL GRAND HALL, THE DOUBLE TREE HOTEL
Plenary Session
Opening and welcome: Ato Neamin Zeleke,(AFE) Conference Coordinator
Guest Speakers #1:
(1) Ms Imani Countess, Senior Director for Public Affairs, Trans Africa
(2) Hon Anna Gomez, Member of European Parliament
(3) Mr Gregory Simpkins, Vice President for Policy & Program Development, Leon Sullivan Foundation.
(4) Professor George Ayittey, Free Africa Foundation
Awards and Recognition
Ethiopian Cultural show (Expected)
3:30-4:00 COFFEE BREAK AND BOOTH VISIT.
4:00-7:00
Panel Discussion: “Which way Ethiopia?”
Ethiopians chart a roadmap to democracy, peace and stability
Session chairs: Ato Betru Gebregziabher and Ato Negussie Mengesha
Reporters : Professor Seid Hassan and Dr Aklog Birara
Panelists:
Group #1: Ato Obang Metho, Ato Jawar Mohammed, Ato Abebe Gellaw, Dr. Abeba Fekade, Artist& Activist Tamagne Beyene, Ato Birhanemeskel, Dr Msmaku Asrat (ENPCP) and Dr Gezahegn Bekele (AFE)
Group #2: Lt. Ayal-sew Dessie, Professor Berhanu Nega, Dr Aregawi Berhe, and Professor Getachew Begashaw
Question and Answer
Statement on the Roadmap to Peace, Democracy & Development in Ethiopia
Closure:
-Ambassador (Ret) Imru Zeleke (ENPCP) and Mrs Wassy Tesfa (AFE)
There is a three days conference on Ethiopia to be held in Alexandra, Virginia. There are plenty of notables involved in this dialogue regarding our neighborhood. All are peoples of stature that have been involved in trying to make life tolerable for their fellow human beings.
If we have to drop a few names here we are tempted to mention Senator Russ Feingold, Congressman Donald Payne, Congressman Chris Smith, the Honorable Ana Gomez, Ambassador Emeru Zeleke, Ambassador David Shinn, Dr. Berhanu Nega and plenty more sitting around a circular table and discussing the dreams and hopes of creating a better future in our neighborhood.
The horn of Africa is a major trouble spot. No one can deny that. Our country Ethiopia is not in good condition. Our nation is epicenter of chaos in the region. Seventeen years after the TPLF assumed power we still find our selves exactly where we started. Famine is still with us, migration of the best and ablest is common and we always show up at the bottom of any and all statistics regarding human accomplishment. No matter how we interpret the statistics today’s Ethiopia is not famous for science, engineering and contribution to human knowledge base. We are famous for civil war, famine and un-relentless migration outwards.
The conference in Virginia is to discuss how to bring about a positive change and build a better future for our people. The participants are people that are working hard to make a difference in the lives of eighty million people. They are not getting paid to attend. There is not any net gain in their private lives for attending the conference. I am sure they spent plenty of their time to prepare for the conference to make their personal contribution a success.
Dialogue and discussion is a preferable method to resolve conflict over fighting. Human experience has proven that approach to be correct and durable. I am sure the organizers are following that footstep pioneered by our ancestors. Thus they have taken the time and resources to apply this proven method to solve the problem facing our old country. We are lucky to have such well-meaning people to take the time and assume responsibility to try to find a solution for our shortcoming.
The question is why are some working over time to derail such a noble cause? Why are a few disparaging such an attempt to find a solution for an old age problem that is evident in our life? Why are a few trading on hate and division to derail our train loaded with hope and goodwill? The short answer is because they don’t know any better. It has become second nature to their existence to put down others worthy contribution.
A friend of mine suggested I visit the web site of the nay Sayers to see the negative and hate filled venom expressed by our brethren. It was not a pleasant experience. It is a sad sight. It begs the question why? Why in the world would anybody oppose an open forum dedicated to find a solution for a problem spot that is affecting over a hundred million humans? There is no rational reason one can think of. May be they have been so comfortable bullying and ignoring the genuine demands of their population that they feel threatened by the mere attempt of others to find a solution to our common problem. Yes the saying ‘like father like son’ comes to mind. It perfectly fits the pattern.
A few weeks back the Prime Minister of Ethiopia was in Mekele, Tigrai celebrating his triumphant anniversary. Instead of using the occasion to celebrate his party’s accomplishment he used the venue to insult, demean and degrade those who do not agree with his views. He painted a dark and sinister picture of those who dare to differ with his blueprint for the future of our country. Their subjects do not view statements by leaders as an empty rhetoric. Words have ramifications. A few days after that hate instigating speech a candidate running for parliament was slayed by the Prime Minster’s supporter. That speech opened the floodgates of hate and negativity. Several candidates running for office have been killed, beaten and threatened through out the country for daring to dream of public service.
It is following that footstep that supporters of the regime have portrayed the ‘horn of Africa’ conference as a negative assembly of anti Ethiopians. The few websites they run has been dedicated to saw discord and ill feeling among people. They have used vile language to describe the participants and organizers of forum. They have resorted to defaming and insulting such worthy public servants because they took the time and showed concern for our country. Their behavior is a sad reflection of the current trend of disparaging and attacking individuals as a person instead of discussing ideas and opinions. It is not like the Ethiopia we know.
Their uttering is far from the truth. Their vain attempt to condemn and vilify is nothing but an attempt to cover their eighteen years of neglect and crime against their own people. Their hate filled diatribe is an attempt to deflect their failure to solve the problems facing the region. On the other hand the conference is an attempt to find a lasting solution rather than blame and finger point. Dialogue is superior form of forging a common path to find a lasting solution. When there is an open and transparent discussion, the outcome is always better and acceptable. It is with that in mind the Virginia conference is set in motion. That is why many East Africans welcome such a positive event knowing the good is definitely far better than the silence and indifference we got on the ground.
Guess what the organizers have decided to involve all of us and judge the event for ourselves. The Conference on the Horn of Africa events will be live-streamed, meaning that you could watch Live Video on your computer with your Internet access where you live in the world. The following is link for the Live streaming of the event on Saturday & Sunday. http://www.ethiov.com/events
We are indebted to the organizers for arranging such a worthy conference. We thank our foreign friends for taking time from their busy schedule and showing concern for our people and country. We are proud of our Ethiopian participants for their relentless work on behalf of their people. Our old nation is better off when her friends and children sit around a table and brainstorm to find a solution and build a better country for all of us. We hope and pray the Ethiopian government will involve itself in building a bridge to find a common ground that will include all the people in finding a solution for our problem. The attempt to bully the participants and vilify the organizers is not worthy of a national government. We hope hate is replaced with love.
