By Mohamed Hassen
In 1991, as the result of military ruling collapsed, Ethiopia established a federal system creating largely ethnic-based territorial units, its framers claiming they have found a formula to achieve ethnic and regional autonomy, while maintaining the state as political unit. The initial process of {www:federalization} lasted four years, and was formalized in a new constitution in 1995. The Ethiopian ethnic federal system is significant in that it provides for {www:secession} of any ethnic unit.
The leading party EPRDF consisted of four parties; although, TPLF led the regime. TPLF working hand-and-gloves with Eritrea rebel at the time had deliberately designed a controversial article 39 so that EPLF should have created its own government and it succeeded to make Ethiopia a country without a port.
The secession clause is one of the most controversial issues in public discourse in Ethiopia and its Diasporas communities today. The TPLF and EPLF soldiers had disarmed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and put them in jail; even though, the honey moon of TPLF and EPLF did last for a short period and we all knew that they had bloody war that claimed the lives of 70 thousands innocent people in 2000.
Opponents of ethnic federalism fear that it invites ethnic conflict and risks state disintegration. The Ethiopian state, they worry, may face the same fate as the USSR and Yugoslavia. Others, of an ethno nationalist persuasion, doubt the government’s real commitment to self-determination; they support the ethnic federal constitution per se, but claim that it has not been put into practice. To many critics, the federal state is a de facto one-party state in which ethnic organizations are mere satellites of one ethnic organization, the Tigray Peoples Liberationits Front (hereafter referred to as TPLF), the leading unit in the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (hereafter referred to as EPRDF). Finally, those who consider Ethiopia to be a colonial empire sees the federal exercise as yet another colonial trick, and advocate “decolonization.” Supporters of ethnic federalism point out that it has maintained the unity of the Ethiopian peoples and the territorial integrity of the state, while providing full recognition to the principle of ethnic equality. It is important to examine objectively whether ethnic federalism is a viable way of resolving conflict between ethno nationalism and state nationalism. Now that the ethnic federal experiment is more than two decades old, it is possible to make a tentative evaluation of its performance. According to a reliable data, the ethnic conflicts have been exacerbated in the last two decades and more conflicts have been emerged in Ethiopia. The main ones are Somalis against Oromo, Oromo against Harari, Afar against Somalis and within Somalis, etc. ,
I posed a key question, not only about the conflict but about whether the current liberation fronts be it OLF, or ONLF should have the controversial secession sentiment is valid: “The question has hovered over Ethiopia Federal System from the moment the Deg regime collapsed whether TPLF, EPLF, ONLF or ONLF join their cousins fighting in its zone: Was the battle for Ethiopian power the clash of a brutal dictator against democratic opposition fronts, or was it fundamentally a tribal civil war?” The brute answer was a tribal civil war and all the fronts have shown their ugly heads once they got a power seat.
This is the essential question because there are two kinds of school of thoughts in Ethiopia: “real united country approach” with long histories in its territory and strong national identities (Amhara, Tigray, Oromo, Somali, Afar, Gurague etc); and those that might be called “tribes with bullets approach,” or more artificial regions with boundaries drawn in sharp straight lines by TPLF’s pen. Those have been trapped inside their regional borders myriad tribes and sects who have volunteered to live together for centuries and have fully melded into a unified family of citizens if they are not organized along the nation and nationalities line.
They are Somali Region, Afar Region, Amhara Region, Trigray Region, and Oromo Region to name a few. The nations and nationalities and sects that make up these more artificial regions have long been held together by the iron fist of EPRDF, kings or military dictators. They are no real “citizens” in the modern sense. They have been asked to forcefully endorsed the identity of their nation origin aka balkanization of apartheid South Africa.
The balkanization disease has not only gone through the people in homeland, but Ethiopians who live in Diaspora. On April 9, and 10, Ethiopian officials visited 14 cities in North America and discussed the so-called Growth Transformation Plan. According to a reliable information that I got from Minnesota, clash of clans had surfaced among the Somalis.
The President of Somali Region Abdi Mohamud Omar had welcomed his own sub clan Ali Ysuuf of Ogadeni and did not want to see any other Somali clans who inhabited in Somali Region. These had a created a tension among the six other Somali clans had formed an organization to fight under the banner of unity of Ethiopia and distanced themselves from the ethnicization. On one occasion, the President of Somali Abdi Mohamudd Omar had insulted the counselors in Washington DC Embassy because they did give a preference to his own sub-clan during the conference. It seems that the Meles regime is doing deliberately to foment tribal conflict so that he elongated his Power. For instance, Somali Region President has spent 90, thousands dollars during his visit to North America, but two millions Ethiopian Somalis are on the brink of starvation in Somali Region. The same thing is going in Somali Region. Many Somali clans had sent a letters of complain to the Federal Government. This attested how much the introduction of article 39 and zoning had destroyed the fabric of Ethiopian society. The people of Ethiopia had lived for centuries, intermarried and fought together to make Ethiopia a land that had never colonized. Currently, ONLF, OLF and G7 political Organizations are meeting in North America and we urged them to focus on the unity of Ethiopia to dismantle the dictatorial regime of Meles Zenawi and to echo the uprising of Arab World.
Finally, sadly, we can’t afford to divide Ethiopia along nations and nationalities line. We have got to get to work on our own country. If the Diaspora is ready to take some big, hard, urgent, decisions, shouldn’t they be first about fighting for freedom, justice and rule of law in Ethiopia? Shouldn’t he first be forging a real unity that will go beyond nations narrow outlook that weakens all the the unity and true Ethiopian identity and a budget policy that secures the Ethiopian dream for another generation? Once those are in place, I will follow the Meles and his gang to be routed out from the power seat as Mubarek and Ben Ali had been relegated to the history bin.
(The writer can be reached at [email protected])
Alemayehu G. Mariam
The Triumphalism of African Dictators
There is nothing that is both amusing and annoying than the chest-beating triumphalism of Africa’s tin pot dictators. This past February, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda lectured a press conference: “There will be no Egyptian-like revolution here. … We would just lock them up. In the most humane manner possible, bang them into jails land that would be the end of the story.” That is to say, if you crack a few heads and kick a few behinds, Africans will bow down and fall in line. Museveni must have been a protégé of Meles Zenawi, the dictator-in-chief in Ethiopia. In 2005, troops under the direct control and command of Zenawi shot dead at least 193 unarmed demonstrators, wounded an additional 763 and jailed over 30 thousand following elections that year. That was the “end of the story” for Zenawi. Or was it?
In March of this year, Zenawi reaffirmed his 99.6 percent electoral victory in the May 2010 elections and ruled out an “Egyptian-like revolution” by proclaiming a contractual right (read birthright) to cling to power: “When the people gave us a five year contract, it was based on the understanding that if the EPDRF party (Zenawi’s party) does not perform the contract to expectations it would be kicked out of power. No need for hassles. The people can judge by withholding their ballots and chase EPDRF out of power. EPDRF knows it and the people know it too.” For Zenawi, electoral politics is a business deal sealed in contract. Every ballot dropped (and stuffed) in the box is the equivalent of an individual signature in blood on an iron clad five-year contract.
Following the recent uprisings, the delirious 42-year dictator of Libya jabbered, “Muammar Gaddafi is the leader of the revolution, I am not a president to step down… This is my country. Muammar is not a president to leave his post, Muammar is leader of the revolution until the end of time.” Simply stated: Muammar Gaddafi is president-for-life!
In 2003, Robert Mugabe, the self-proclaimed Hitler of Zimbabwe, shocked the world by declaring: “I am still the Hitler of the times. This Hitler has only one objective: Justice for his people. Sovereignty for his people. If that is Hitler, right, then let me be a Hitler ten-fold.” In Mein Kampf, the self-proclaimed leader (Der Fuhrer) of the “master race” wrote blacks are “monstrosities halfway between man and ape.” Africans have deep respect for their elders because they believe wisdom comes with age. Sadly, the 87 year-old Mugabe is living proof of the old saying, “There is no fool like an old fool.”
What makes African dictators so mindlessly arrogant, egotistically self-aggrandizing, delusionally contemptuous, hopelessly megalomaniacal and sociopathically homicidal? More simply: What the hell is wrong with African dictators?!?
Seeking to answer this question, I conducted an imaginary interview with Africa’s greatest, most respected and universally-loved leader, Nelson (Madiba) Rolihlahla Mandela. The answers below are quotations pieced together from President Mandela’s books, public statements, speeches, interviews, court proceedings and other publications and materials.
An Imaginary Conversation With President Nelson Mandela
Q. President Mandela, many African leaders believe they can cling to power forever by “locking up” their enemies and “banging” them in jail, shooting them in the streets and waging a sustained psychological campaign of fear and intimidation against their people. Is peaceful change possible in Africa?
A. “The government has interpreted the peacefulness of the movement as a weakness: the people’s non-violent policies have been taken as a green light for government violence. Refusal to resort to force has been interpreted by the government as an invitation to use armed force against the people without any fear of reprisals…
Neither should it ever happen that once more the avenues to peaceful change are blocked by usurpers who seek to take power away from the people, in pursuit of their own, ignoble purposes.
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. It always seems impossible until it is done.”
Q. Many African leaders “lead” by intimidating, arbitrarily arresting, torturing and murdering their people. What are the leadership qualities Africa needs?
A. “I always remember the axiom: a leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.
It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.
As a leader… I have always endeavored to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my own opinion. Oftentimes, my own opinion will simply represent a consensus of what I heard in the discussion.
This [first democratic election for all South Africans] is one of the most important moments in the life of our country. I stand here before you filled with deep pride and joy – pride in the ordinary, humble people of this country. You have shown such calm, patient determination to reclaim this count. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.”
Quitting is leading too.”
Q. Many African leaders today believe they are “supermen” who have a birthright to rule their people as they wish. Does this concern you?
A. “That was one of the things that worried me – to be raised to the position of a semi-god – because then you are no longer a human being. I wanted to be known as Mandela, a man with weaknesses, some of which are fundamental, and a man who is committed, but, nevertheless, sometimes fails to live up to expectations.”
Q. You have spent many decades in prison. Do you have any regrets for all the sacrifices you have made?
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. But, my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Q. There are African leaders who say democracy and freedom must be delayed and rationed to the people in small portions to make way for development. Can freedom be rationed?
A. “There is no such thing as part freedom.”
Q. What is at the end of the rainbow of freedom?
A. “I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”
Q. One African leader takes great pride in comparing himself to Adolf Hitler, the iconic symbol of hate in modern human history. Why are so many African leaders filled with so much hatred, malice and bitterness?
A. “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Q. Do you believe an election is a contract between Africa’s iron-fisted rulers and the people?
A. “Only free men can negotiate, prisoners can’t enter in contracts.”
Q. What can Africans do to liberate themselves from the scourge of dictatorship?
A. “No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective.”
Q. Why are so many well-off Africans afraid to take a stand against dictatorship, human rights violations and corruption on the continent?
A. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us: it’s in everyone. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Q. How can African intellectuals contribute to the struggle for democracy, human rights and accountability in the continent?
A: “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”
Q. What is the one important thing young Africans need to guarantee a bright future for themselves and the continent?
A. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president…”
Q. What is you dream for Africa and humanity in general?
A. “I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself. I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another. If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.
This must be a world of democracy and respect for human rights, a world freed from the horrors of poverty, hunger, deprivation and ignorance, relieved of the threat and the scourge of civil wars and external aggression and unburdened of the great tragedy of millions forced to become refugees.”
Q. What are the choices facing the people of Africa today?
A. “The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices: submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means within our power in defense of our people, our future and our freedom.”
Thank you, President Mandela. May you live for a thousand years! Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. (God Bless Africa.)
Previous commentaries by the author are available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ andhttp://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/
PRESS RELEASE
Reports coming out of Ethiopia indicate that the mass arrest of the Oromos has continued unabated. Meles is engaged in a {www:witch-hunt} strategy to destroy any form of opposition to his dictatorship. Like most desperate dictators in North Africa and the Middle East he unsuccessfully attempted to associate the emerging new pro democracy movement with foreign forces.
The naked truth is that the minority dictatorial regime that has been in power for 20 years through brute force and fraudulent elections is severely threatened by the uprising that is brewing all over Ethiopia. Civil resistance is slowly but surely spreading in almost every part of the country. Like the dictators in the Middle East and North Africa, Meles is trying to deflect public attention by preposterously linking the pro-democracy movement in side Ethiopia and in the Diaspora with foreign forces.
The Global Civic Movement for Change in Ethiopia (GCMCE) strongly condemns the latest {www:political machination} of the Zenawi regime, demands the immediate halt to the mass arrests, egregious human rights violations in the Ogaden, Oromia, and other regions, calls for the unconditional release of all political prisoners and the resignation of Meles Zenawi so that it paves the way for the formation of a Transitional Government.
We also call on the regime to allow the International Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations to resume their operations in the Ogaden and other drought affected areas of Ethiopia.
Beka! Enough! Geye! Yeakel! Bass! Aloni! Ditteh! Wetandeem! Gides!
Freedom, justice, equality for the People of Ethiopia! Victory to the people of Ethiopia!
For more information contact: [email protected]
Global Civic Movement for Change in Ethiopia
PRESS RELEASE
Ethiopian Youth Movement
The Ethiopian youth is once again determined to make history. We have unanimously decided to conduct tactical campaign strategy and remove the despotic regime that has been in power for more than 20 years through brute force and fraudulent elections. In 1974 the popular revolution that overthrew the age old imperial regime was led by the youth. It was the result of the sustained struggle of the Ethiopian student movement that culminated in a popular revolution. After the 1974 revolution, the Ethiopian youth vehemently fought the military regime, and paid dearly. The sacrifice required retreat and change of strategy. In 1991, the youth managed to remove the military dictatorship. Unfortunately like the 1974 revolution, the 1991 revolution was hijacked by poor leaders and blood thirsty Marxist dictators that used ethnic differences as a card to impose an apartheid type minority rule. Today the Ethiopian youth faces severe hardship, has little sense of national cohesion, and is living with grim future. It is facing high unemployment, mass migration, bad education, eviction from its ancestral land to give way to land to foreigners and lost its God given liberty.
On the positive side, there is hope. We are fully aware that our destiny is in our hands. We are also inspired by our peers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere. There is no reason why we cannot have the Arab uprising in Ethiopia. We can have an Ethiopian Spring that addresses the root causes of bad governance. Therefore, we have resolved to bring the torch to Ethiopia, and liberate the country from the minority dictatorship that has been in power for more than 20 years.
To this effect, the youth wings of major political organizations have agreed to work for peaceful change, with the main objective of creating a platform in bringing the Ethiopian youth together, to network and build solidarity, brainstorm ideas, strategize long term and short term plans to shape the political, social and economic future of Ethiopia. We want to contribute to peace and development not only in Ethiopia but in the Horn of Africa. We want to resolve the Nile River issue with a win win situation for all countries. Our aim is to promote democracy and end minority rule through peaceful resistance. It is to promote equality, justice, unity and mutual respect among all Ethiopians. The Ethiopian Youth Movement is an independent network with structures in most parts of Ethiopia, and in the Diaspora. It has been operating for sometime. It is an action oriented movement that does not aspire to hold a political office. Our movement rejects all forms of extremism.
In the short term, the struggle will focus on removing the dictatorship through peaceful resistance. The struggle period can be short or a protracted one. It aims to minimize the level of sacrifice. Our struggle is not against the ordinary TPLF members or the Ethiopian Defense Forces. It is against the TPLF cabal, the violators of human rights and corrupt officials. We have an excellent relationship with the global youth movement. Our short term aim is to help the formation of a Transitional Government that prepares the country for an unfettered free and fair election.
The Transitional Government, in addition to preparing the country for a free and fair election, shall maintain law and order, and defend the unity and territorial integrity of the country during the transition period. It shall have no hidden agenda. The Ethiopian Youth Movement therefore fully supports the recently issued press statement of the National Oromian Youth Movement, and calls upon the removal of Meles Zenawi from power. We support the suspension of the constitution and the abolition of the rubber stamp parliament of TPLF.
No amount of suppression and propaganda shall confuse the Ethiopian youth from its target. We are very happy to announce that the peaceful resistance for change will start on May 28, 2011. We call upon Ethiopian students, farmers, workers, civil servants, businessmen and women, professionals, political organizations, civic organizations, religious leaders, and men and women in the uniform to join the youth movement to remove the dictatorship. We also call upon all armed and clandestine opposition forces to declare cease fire and support the peaceful struggle.
The struggle for democracy and unity shall continue!
Ethiopian Youth Movement
E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107472902664461
The Washington Examiner reports that the DC police has found 300 lbs of khat after arresting an Ethiopian cafe owner. Khat is an illegal drug in the U.S., but it is widely consumed by members of the ruling party in Ethiopia, including the head of Woyanne junta Meles Zenawi. Read the report below by Scott McCabe:
Ethopian cafe owner arrested in major khat bust
WASHINGTON DC — District police charged the owner of an Ethiopian cafe with the illegal narcotic {www:khat} after investigators intercepted hundreds pounds of the leafy substance, which is used as a common stimulant in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Police recovered more than 300 pounds of khat that had a street value of more than $95,000, said Lt. John Haines of the 4th Police District.
The bust “removes a major drug traffic dealer” from the neighborhood north of Sherman Circle, Haines said in a statement.
Etana Shuremu, owner of the Dira Dawa Deli & Cafe, 5333 Georgia Ave. NW, has been charged with unlawful possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. No one answered the phone at the business Tuesday, and Shuremu’s attorney, Sara Kopecki, said she could not comment.
According to court documents, the investigation began in February when a D.C. police officer got a tip from a confidential informant that boxes of khat were being shipped from overseas to the Ethiopian cafe. Khat is a plant cultivated in Kenya and Ethiopia that is typically chewed like tobacco, though it can be smoked and sprinkled on food. In its fresh state, it’s classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under United States law, along with drugs like LSD, PCP and Ecstasy. The khat leaves typically start to break down within 48 hours and become a much lesser stimulant considered a Schedule IV drug.
The leafy substance was shipped in boxes labeled “green tea” from the United Kingdom, police said. The source told police that 15 to 20 boxes were delivered three or four times a week. The informant provided cardboard packaging that contained the “green tea” label with a clear plastic bag containing khat residue that had been found in the trash, documents said.
The officers learned that the business was about to receive a shipment of khat from two overseas locations in March. Investigators obtained a warrant to open five packages addressed to Shuremu at a U.S. postal facility before the boxes were delivered to the Diradawa cafe.
A Drug Enforcement Administration lab confirmed that the packages contained 230 pounds of khat, and that the dealers had devised a method to keep the khat fresh, documents said. Police executed another warrant at the store and recovered an additional 80 pounds.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime-punishment/2011/05/ethopian-cafe-owner-arrested-major-khat-bust#ixzz1LSdFteQU
