By Netsanet Habtu
This commentary concerns a recent article written by the “Ethiopian” Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) under the name Adal Isaw, and was published on Aigaforum. In the article, MoFA calls for the extradition of Berhanu Nega, leader of Ginbot 7, on the basis that he is a “terrorist”. Never mind the legal definition of a terrorist or what a legitimate government is, we are more interested in the fact that the article is an epitome of the mindset of leaders of the regime.
Of course we don’t expect it to be anything else but that. However, we would still like to point out to them that, even looking at the matter from their point of view, they are engaged in a futile exercise.
The piece is a perfect portrayal of the regime’s continued refusal to acknowledge Ethiopians as citizens to whom it ought to be accountable, and whose interests it should serve above all. It also reflects perfectly what has for a long time been the defining character of the ruling party, which is inability to understand the fundamental ideas associated with the struggle for freedom and democracy.
Although the overriding theme appears to be the call for Dr. Berhanu’s deportation, equally important is MoFA’s plea of rescue to America. In fact, it goes further than a plea; it is a warning for America that unless the latter acts upon MoFA’s request, their “counter-terrorism” alliance may be broken.
The article draws a background of a country located in “one of the roughest neighborhoods in the world”. It emphasizes the fact that this happened not by choice, as if that is not apparent already. It appears as if the regime is trying to hide that it actually loves that exact location our country is at. After all, it has been receiving the support that has so far contributed to its survival from the US in the name of fighting terrorism in this “rough neighborhood”.
That is why, in going further to endear itself to the US, the regime portrays itself as an entity whose very existence is to serve the interests of the US. Nowhere does it mention Ethiopians’ interests. Of course one cannot blame it for not acknowledging Ethiopians as its constituents, because they are not. Since that became glaringly obvious especially after the 2005 elections, the regime had to come up with the “developmental state” rhetoric to justify its existence. But in this article, even that fake development talk was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it is an implicit admission that it has not worked either.
Considering all that, it may be fair for MoFA to direct its appeal for rescue at America. After all, according to the regime’s own press release, the recent challenge on its illegitimate seat came from the military. Considering how it has used the armed and security forces to repress dissent in the past and had confidence to rely on them for the future, for the challenge to come from the military is a sign that its ground is shaking.
In the past several years, there have been widespread politically motivated layoffs within the army. The regime has weeded out those it believed supported opposition. The upper level positions within the army were given to those the regime can trust, and are of the same ethnic group as the ruling clique. Despite all these “precautions”, a few people found a way to organize a challenge. So, for a regime that does not have the backing of its citizens, whose attempts to justify its existence have been futile, and whose own army challenges it, it doesn’t come as a surprise for it to totally ignore its own citizens and prostrate itself before a foreign power and beg for rescue. It has to ask some one for help.
The manner in which the request to deport Berhanu Nega is being made to the US government is also worthy of attention. As if there are no laws or procedures in America, the Department of Defense is supposed to take Berhanu’s name because he is challenging an illegitimate government, pass it on to DHS, who will ask no questions about the rights of an individual.
The different agencies of the US government will not take a person as a terrorist just because some rogue government with a habit of labeling all of its opposition a terrorist labels him too. This reflects on the part of MoFA a crucial misunderstanding of the values upon which America was built, in addition to the tenets of basic human rights. It is also a reflection of how business is conducted in Ethiopia, where the judiciary and other branches of government have repeatedly proven themselves to be no more than the executioners of the ruling party’s repression.
MoFA explains that the deportation of Berhanu Nega to Ethiopia will make Ethiopia’s “counter-terrorism” efforts more “effective”. What it really means is that the regime hopes to slow down or destroy the struggle for democracy and justice in Ethiopia. We know this because it has been the story of our country for the last eighteen years. This belief that going after individuals will stop opposition has been the defining character of the regime.
Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that the US government deports Dr. Berhanu Nega to Ethiopia. He may be put in the same prison he has repeatedly been put in before, or he may even get executed. Is that supposed to be success? Absolutely not.
The problem with the regime has always been its failure to understand that the question of democracy and justice is one that is shared by millions of Ethiopians. If it wasn’t, the question would have died the day they tortured and killed the first Oromo boy they suspected of being a member of an illegal opposition group a couple of years after they took power. The question would have stopped coming throughout the years the lives of countless Ethiopian citizens were unjustly taken because they stood up for what they believed in. It would have stopped some months ago when they put Birtukan Mideksa in solitary confinement.
Dr. Berhanu is our brother in the struggle. He, just like the rest of us, understands the sacrifices attached to waging a struggle against repressive regimes. Prison or not, death or not, deportation or not, we will fight the TPLF. And we will remove the illegitimate and repressive government.
The regime needs to understand that killing or imprisoning a person never amounts to killing his or her values. The values are location and time transcendent, and are shared by millions. Just a few weeks ago, the regime’s mouthpieces were questioning just how exactly Berhanu Nega was going to sit in exile and remove the government in Ethiopia. “Is he going to use a remote control?” they mocked. Little do they understand that Berhanu connected with millions of Ethiopians back home through shared values. And this week, they have found themselves claiming that he was the mastermind of a coup attempt locally led by an active military general. The contradictions could not be more glaring. Ginbot 7 denies involvement, but that is beside the point.
Since the claim is coming from the regime itself and they believe it to be the case, what exactly does that teach them? Berhanu Nega could not have used a remote control to direct human beings to make such risky moves and put their lives in danger. These are adults who must have given this a serious thought and chose to go ahead with their plan because they have conviction for it.
Clearly, these men aren’t the ordinary robotic generals (the likes of Gen. Kasa Deme) the ruling party loves to keep close to itself. These are men who have their own brains, and who chose to do what they believed in regardless of the danger their actions entailed. They did what they did while THINKING. And it is perfectly within reason to think that there are more of these people within the army and elsewhere. So, how exactly is going after a few individuals supposed to destroy the movement?
The answer is really clear and short. Leaders of the dictatorship have never understood the concept of individual choice and of principles. That should be self evident because if they did, they wouldn’t be dictators; assuming they are sane and all. They could never understand why a person would turn down their bribes, and their open door policy towards corruption, in order to go do something he/she “believes in”.
They never seem to wake up to the lesson either. They have arrested this man, Berhanu, several times before and each time, he seems to come at them stronger. They thought their attack on Kinijit has destroyed the movement that humiliated them and showed their nakedness to the eyes of all Ethiopians and the international community. But it seems to get more sophisticated and keep coming at them.
The struggle for justice and democracy keeps getting bigger and bigger. That is so because the organizations are nothing more than the reflections of our beliefs. Each time they and their leadership are attacked, more of us are awakened to injustice. The harsher the attacks get, the closer they get to most of us. So we come to find it in our advantage to join in the chorus and demand justice.
One cannot “foil” Ginbot 7. Because I am Ginbot 7, and I am as alive and free as ever. When you arrest me in Addis Ababa, I will be free in Gambella. When you kill me in Gondar, I will be alive in Wollega. I am whispering the message of freedom in the ears of young people in Welqitte; while you toil to find me in Adama. That is the same whisper that wakes you up abruptly at night. You may rape my sisters and burn our village in the Ogaden, but I am eating at what you claim to be the basis of your existence in Tigray. I speak several languages, and I send your faxes and take the minutes at your meetings. You will be defeated by me. I am Ginbot 7, and I stand for unity, justice and freedom. And I am everywhere.