Hundreds of thousands of irate Ethiopian Muslims took to the streets of Addis Ababa this weekend – Africa’s biggest protests since Tahrir Square. They want the government to stop meddling in their religious affairs, and acknowledge that Muslims can’t remain a marginalised minority. Ethiopia’s Christian-led government better make some concessions quickly, or risk finding out exactly how many irate Muslims there really are.
You would be forgiven for thinking that the tense, dramatic African Union elections were the most exciting thing to happen in Addis Ababa this weekend – but you would be wrong. While the diplomats were squabbling about procedure and protocol, in another part of the capital an altogether more serious situation was developing, at least as far as hosts Ethiopia are concerned.
While reports are hard to confirm, participants claimed that somewhere between 500,000 and one million Muslims gathered in and around one of the city’s main mosques in a blatant show of defiance against the Christian-led government, while smaller marches took place in other cities across the country. If these numbers are true, then the government of Meles Zenawi – who is currently in Brussels receiving medical treatment, adding to the uncertainty – should be gravely concerned. To put them in perspective, the marches on Tahrir Square which precipitated the Egyptian Revolution were of a similar size; demonstrations of this scale have not been seen in Africa since.
Sunday was the third consecutive day of protests and mosque sit-ins, and already hundreds are reported arrested or injured by the government response, which has definitely included the liberal use of tear gas and – again according to participant claims – live rounds.
Ethiopia is a historically Christian country, one of the oldest Christian countries in the world. But Islam too has deep roots there; it was the first place that persecuted Muslims sought refuge, fleeing Mecca to the kingdom of Axum where the Prophet Muhammad had told them they would be safe. The Axumite king, recognising that his Christianity and the exiles’ Islam shared the same Abrahamic roots, welcomed them. “Go to your homes and live in peace. I shall never give you up to your enemies,” he said.
Ever since, there has been a Muslim community in Ethiopia, and the two religions have co-existed relatively peacefully; both the Christian majority and Muslim minority generally treated with similar disdain by whatever emperor or government was in power, even though Ethiopia’s leaders have always been Christian.
Meles Zenawi’s government, however, is having to contend with a new threat. According to official statistics, Muslims make up 34% of the population; Ethiopian Orthodox Christians 44%; and various Protestant groupings another 17%. But the Muslim population is growing so quickly that, even taking these numbers at face value, Muslims are projected to become the majority in Ethiopia by 2050.
But Ethiopia’s Muslims say these figures have been twisted, and that they are already the majority. This is part of the rhetoric which underpins the current protests, and it’s not the first time I have heard this claim. Three years ago, in Addis Ababa, a diplomat who asked to remain anonymous told me that the results of the 2007 census had been delayed for months as the government struggled to deal with what that census revealed: that, in fact, there were more Muslims than Christians in the country. This posed an existential threat to Zenawi’s government, eroding its traditional support base, and the numbers were fixed – or so the story goes.
A more recent spark for the unrest has been the government’s perceived meddling in religious affairs by encouraging and supporting one minority Muslim sect over the more mainstream others. Terrified of the potential emergence of Al Shabaab-style fundamentalist Islam, Zenawi’s administration has promoted one particular sect of Islam, the Al Ahbash, which opposes ultra-conservative ideology and rejects violence. This has included appointing Al Ahbash clerics to lead the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, despite the fact that the Al Ahbash are pretty far from mainstream Islam – in Ethiopia and anywhere else. “It (Al Ahbash) has the right to exist in Ethiopia, but it is unacceptable that the Council tries to impose it on all members of the Muslim community,” Abubeker Ahmed, head of an independent Islamic arbitration committee, told Reuters.
All this takes place against the backdrop of a highly autocratic state. Meles Zenawi would describe it as a benevolent autocracy, but human rights watchdogs would beg to differ. “Ethiopian authorities continued to severely restrict basic rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Hundreds of Ethiopians in 2011 were arbitrarily arrested and detained and remain at risk of torture and ill-treatment,” wrote Human Rights Watch in their World Report 2012.
Restrictions on journalists are particularly tight, making it very difficult to gauge accurately what’s going on in the country. Nonetheless, it’s a story that needs to be covered; it’s clear that the tinderbox of religious divisions, strong-arm responses from the state, historical inequalities and modern demographic shifts has the potential to turn ugly. A media source in Addis Ababa told the Daily Maverick that tensions were so high that the smallest spark could cause a conflagration. And with Zenawi out of action in Brussels, who is around to put out the fire?
Aiga Forum, the website closely associated with Ethiopia’s intelligence services, just posted an emotional, tear-soaked, braggadocio-filled piece that appears to be the obituary of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The article titled “Meles ad Infinitum” was penned by someone using the pseudonym “Aesop.” Aesop, incidentally, is the same author who wrote another piece a week ago calling Ethiopian Muslims mosquitoes. That article was a prelude to the government crackdown on Ethiopian Muslims this past Friday.
In a thinly-veiled farewell to the best known son of Adwa who went on to terrorize the nation of 90-million for the last twenty-one years, the author argues that Zenawi should be remembered for what he accomplished in “praxis” as as well as his one-time promise to step down peacefully.
You can read the full article at the following link.
Is There a Way Out Without Our Mutual Destruction?
By Obang Metho | Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.
It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.
It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
(Taken from an online message circulating on the web.)
Word is out in the Ethiopian community that Meles Zenawi is seriously ill or may even be dying. It has caused many to speculate—or panic, depending on one’s position—about the future of the TPLF/EPRDF should Meles be suddenly gone from leadership, whether the reason is poor health, death or retirement—forced or voluntary—if rumors about an internal power struggle are correct.
This is a critical time for the future of Ethiopia and we in the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) seek to speak out regarding our position; knowing that some may have a different point of view; however, as stakeholders in the future of Ethiopia, we are highly concerned about how Ethiopians can shape the future for the better. Promoting a national dialogue that takes into account the value of putting“humanity before ethnicity” and the equally important value about caring about others—our Ethiopian brothers and sisters—because “no one will be free until all are free,”will make a difference in the outcome.
Even prior to the formation of the SMNE in 2008, as the ethnic-based organization, the Anuak Justice Council (AJC), some of us came to understand the critical importance of confronting a “system” of injustice that transcended our own ethnicity, in order to encompass the similar needs of others and to gain their cooperation in a mutual struggle for freedom. So after the release of Kinijit leaders from prison in 2007, when these leaders began to struggle with internal differences, the AJC sent them an open letter, exhorting them to reconcile for the greater good of the country and offered to mediate if need be.
In order to avoid the breakup of Kinijit over these internal differences—seen at the time to be a great defeat for the people—we suggested that they, and others who might join them, might more easily overcome these differences by transforming themselves into a broad-based umbrella movement with the shared goal of eventually creating an environment conducive to genuine democracy and political competition. As we all know, Kinijit died, and with it the momentum of the shared struggle slowed to a crawl. See the link to read open letter to Kinijit leaders http://www.anuakjustice.org/downloads/070922OpenLetterToTheKinijitOrCUDPLeaders.pdf.
In 2008, we took our own advice and created the SMNE, with the mission of working for the interests of all Ethiopians, regardless of ethnicity, political viewpoint, religion or other identity distinctions. Some mistakenly viewed the SMNE as an opposition political party to compete against, but from the outset, the SMNE was a movement to transform the minds of the people, including the TPLF/EPRDF. So in 2009 when Meles began violating indigenous land rights, the SMNE sent a letter to him and to the public. See the link to read letter to Meles http://www.solidaritymovement.org/091130OpenLetterToPrimeMinisterMelesZenawi.php .
In 2009, when Birtukan Mideksa was in jail and the UDJ were fighting among selves; again, we sent an open letter to UDJ leadership. See the link to read the letter http://www.solidaritymovement.org/100428OpenLetterToUDJLeaders.php. These are only a few examples of the many issues we have raised concerning important matters involving the well-being of all Ethiopian people.
Today we, as well as the TPLF/EPRDF, are in a serious predicament and the way out may not be a well-travelled path but a different alternative that must focus on reconciling a country that otherwise will remain stuck—and miserably suffering—at the bottom of humanity for who knows for how long. We have missed countless opportunities for a better Ethiopia in the past. Reconciliation, with the restoration of justice, could have been an option at the death of Haile Selassie, but leftist ideology of the student movement prevailed, summed up with bravado in the statement, “We will start a revolution on the grave of our enemy.” Instead, the “revolution” that followed became the “Red Terror” of Mengistu and prepared the way for the embittered and oppressed to start the next revolution. Again,reconciliation and the restoration of justice could have changed the future of Ethiopia; but instead, when the TPLF came in, they still believed in the ideology of ethnic liberation and chose the same destructive path of “a Marxist-Leninist revolution.”Few really challenged the TPLF because they also endorsed this “ethnic-liberation” model and thought they would benefit.
When Meles and the TPLF came to power, they used well-calculated, “divide and conquer” strategies to undermine any attempts to unite the majority of people against them, especially because their own ethnic group, the Tigrayans, made up such a small percentage of the population. The chief contender, the Eritrean Peoples’ Liberation Front (EPLF) they disempowered by giving away Eritrea, necessary for their own survival, but making the country land-locked.
Their tactics were successful as ethnic groups, political groups, separatist armed groups and religious groups fell into TPLF/EPRDF traps—not with reluctance, but with vigorous cooperation. Their entrapment was made simple because many people did not question what was at stake. Through it all, the TPLF/EPRDF used their hold on power to shore up, as quickly as they could, all the perks, opportunities and assets the country had to offer and used them to reward themselves, their own ethnic region and favored groups; particularly family members, party loyalists and cronies. It put these favored few in a predicament of their own. Others became so outraged with this preferential treatment that Tigrayans, as a whole, became increasingly alienated from the mainstream. The mainstream, which in itself is not a unified group, but is instead made up of many different factions, all now are connected together by their anger towards the TPLF/EPRDF and their beneficiaries.
Especially following the 2005 election, anything that could bring change to the country has been attacked by the TPLF/EPRDF. This regime has eliminated all political space. There is no opposition. The TPLF/EPRDF regime now controls 99% of the parliament. The media and all access to information are tightly controlled. They have destroyed most of civil society and its institutions and now control nearly all businesses.
The TPLF/EPRDF regime is one of the most corrupt in the world as those in power steal the land, resources, opportunities and lives of the people. Everything is a pretense and contradicted by the truth on the ground. The TPLF/EPRDF pretends to give equal opportunity when everyone knows that one group, their own, dominates everything. Even the pseudo-representation of various ethnicities within the EPRDF can be seen as a ruse to use “puppets of diversity” to prop up the TPLF leadership and their families and friends. We all know this. For example,Haile Mariam Dessalegn, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia, should be the next in line, assuring a some transition should something happen to Meles, but in Ethiopia, this is unlikely to happen because he is not a Tigra and from the wrong tribe.
As Meles fights for his life, the TPLF/EPRDF-controlled courts just sentenced 24 Ethiopian journalists and activists who were convicted on terrorism charges to sentences ranging from eight years in prison to life. This all may be a moot point right now. Even though the TPLF/EPRDF may have the money, the guns and the power, the TPLF/EPRDF may become encumbered in their own self-imposed prison as they face the tremendous pent-up anger from the majority. No one can get out of this “jail” easily. Many regimes who have led like this, for example, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria, must reckon with the serious consequences of their actions. An example is Bashir Assad of Syria who will use the well-worn path of dictators in fighting until death, at any cost to his followers or opponents, out of fear of going down like those who preceded him.
When we have a regime like this, the future looks dim—a future much closer to ending if Meles “leaves” before his “fight for regime survival” starts. Keep in mind, at the height of the famine last year, Meles had ordered 200 tanks in anticipation of fighting his own “Arab Spring.” He may never see it; however, Meles will not be easily “replaced” for he has ruled the TPLF, and subsequently, the TPLF-dominated EPRDF, as its iron-fisted leader ever since he was a rebel in the bush. He has wooed the West while tyrannizing his own people and exploiting their assets. Many are now wondering how the absence of Meles from the helm of the TPLF/EPRDF might unbalance its inner workings, even bringing it to an abrupt end, as different stakeholders vie for power and control. If Meles leaves, the status quo will be impossible; however, even in the unlikely scenario of his return, rumors emerged, prior to his decline in health, which inferred that half of the top TPLF/EPRDF leadership were ready to oust him from power while the other half feared that the party would collapse without him. Allegedly, before the meeting could conclude the following day, he was rushed to Brussels for medical treatment. He has not returned since that time.
Rumors that Meles may be seriously ill and close to death may be credible. He has not been seen since June 18, 2012 and has not shown up for two very crucial meetings where he typically plays a significant role. The first was the end-of-the-year meeting of Parliament when the final budget should have been presented by Meles along with the prime minister’s address to Parliament. Secondly, he did not show up for the African Union meeting held today (7/13/12) in Addis Ababa, but no one in charge is talking about it.
Why the secrecy? Is it because the “system of power” Meles has advanced was on a downward spiral already; however, if he dies now, his death may also signal the “political death” of the TPLF/EPRDF. No wonder his health condition is being hidden from the public. TPLF/ERPDF leaders need time and are ill-prepared to enter into such an urgent political struggle for power that may cost them dearly if they do not cling to it. We already hear of the rise in power of Azeb Mesfin and the animosity she is creating towards herself and among others who resent her power. These are TPLF loyalists like Bereket Simon, the generals who are with Meles and those opposing him, or Arkebe Equbay’s group, who are ready to usurp power and to try to keep the status quo—especially for the sake of Tigrayans. Then there is the Hailemariam Dessalegn factor and the rise of the Southern Nations and the Oromos let alone the Amharas, the Ogadeni, the Afar and others.
They also may be forced to taste the poisonous fruit of the ethnic-based venom they have so successfully spread over the past twenty plus years, which has alienated the people of Tigray from the rest of the Ethiopians. At the same time, the “Anti-TPLF campaign, set in motion by some in the Diaspora, whether we like it or not, has furthered that hostility.
Whether Meles leaves office for health reasons, death or through voluntary or forced retirement, we in the SMNE believe we should be preparing for a “post-Meles” Ethiopia. We Ethiopians would be in a better position if our ideas for “our shared tomorrow” were more compatible with each other; however, they not only differ, but in some cases, strongly compete with each other. Could his departure bring some better but unanticipated alternative, the less-taken path, which would otherwise be closed off? Let us look at the present situation.
If Ethiopia is to emerge from a “post-Meles era” with enough strength to meet the challenges of the future, the people of Ethiopia must seek reconciliation, genuine justice and a “changed mindset” that will shape the agenda. If Ethiopians, including the TPLF/EPRDF, refuse to give up our present “us versus them” mentality or our tribal-based, “winner take all” culture, we will set into motion a destiny more similar to Rwanda, Kosovo or Syria.
Our future as a Country is fragile, like a large clay pot filled with water that many of us want to quench our thirst.
It is being fought over by many desperate families who could all have a drink if they so decided not to fight over who should carry it. Instead, as many hands try to snatch it away from others to gain control of the water, the clay pot falls to the ground and shatters; the precious water spilling out all over the ground. No one gets a drink.
What kind of future do we want and what kind of choices will lead to it? Will we choose revenge or justice? Will we choose tribalism or feudalism or the affirmation of the dignity and worth of all Ethiopians? Will we choose hatred or reconciliation? Will we choose truth or deception; accountability or corruption; decency or exploitation; civility or ignorance? The people of Ethiopia can stubbornly choose to continue an evil, greed-based and immoral system that will perpetuate our present condition or choose a new future to a New Ethiopia by taking a different path—one that is God-honoring, life-affirming, justice-seeking and peace-building.
Without reconciliation between Ethiopians, we will “break the clay pot.” Reconciliation is the only way out of this crisis, but will the TPLF and other Tigrayans see this? If they can see it, are they willing to do it? If they did, would other groups be willing to accept them or would these opposing groups want to defeat them as “the enemy” regardless of the costs? Is it more about defeating the enemy or is it about “transforming the enemy”—whoever it is—for the betterment of everyone. We must strategically think rather than emotionally react. We all have a lot to lose if we do it in the wrong way.
Many Ethiopians believe they have already lost almost everything to the TPLF/EPRDF so that they have nothing more to lose. This is a dangerous position to be up against unless all sides are willing to make concessions, especially those who have held control and received countless benefits from their position.Those holding the power also have the most to lose if they attempt to continue to hold on to everything. It is foolish for them to count on the continuation of the TPLF/EPRDF because the longevity of this is as precarious as the health of their leader (Meles).
Even though the TPLF/ERPDF will say Meles is only one person, not the whole party, the truth is that when he leaves, it will never again be the same. Once Meles is out, the inevitable struggle for power will ensue for it is highly doubtful that the TPLF/ERPDF will agree on a successor. Even now we hear that the struggle has begun.
At the same time, many in the opposition will fight for the power in order to secure a better life for themselves and their own group, but not necessarily for others or for the country. Within every major group are divisions and struggles, some for individual or group power and dominance and some for noble reasons. How can Ethiopians succeed as a people in this atmosphere?
Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee. It does not matter which tribe one is from because the ritual of coffee drinking is celebrated throughout Ethiopia. There is someone to take care of the clay pot or (JEBENA) which brews the Ethiopian coffee. This person usually is someone others respect and trust to handle the pot with care; understanding its fragility. As the coffee is prepared, the people sit by, respectfully waiting for the coffee to be served. When it is served, the people again wait patiently for their turn. No one is left out and no one demands to be served first or to get all of the coffee for him/herself. Everyone gets their coffee. That is part of the ritual.
Now consider the coffee pot as a symbol of Ethiopia. If you look at a map of Ethiopia below, you may see how it resembles a coffee pot with its top, Eritrea, already missing.
The handle is Gambella; the spout is the Somali /Ogaden region, the neck is Tigray and the container is Oromia, Afar, the Amhara region, Southern Nations and Benishangul-Gumuz. What will happen when people start to fight over it?If someone pulls on the handle, the neck, the spout or the container itself and it breaks into pieces, no one will benefit and they will all lose.
What we are facing is not about Meles, but about Ethiopia as a country which has enough resources and hard-working people for all its citizens to prosper. For the sake of the country, we must admit where we have done wrong and be willing to make the necessary changes. It will be difficult but not impossible. It will be a bitter pill but it will cure us.
Others must also be willing to accept these changes. There must be some compromise, like was done in South Africa, rather than a preoccupation with revenge and a determination to take everything away from the enemy or the rest of the people outside our own group. This kind of “vendetta-mindset,” shaped the TPLF following the Dergue and was played out against anyone of Amhara ethnicity. Now, the Tigrayans or EPRDF members are the target and the deadly game can start all over. Who will be next as many are thinking that it is their “turn to eat.” This cycle will not get us anywhere and must stop, but to stop it, the TPLF/EPRDF, as well as others, must be pro-active in bringing it to a halt. The TPLF/EPRDF needs to think about it. The opposition needs to think about it.
In Rwanda, in thirty days, 800,000 people were killed. Over 14,000 people have already been killed in Syria and the fighting there is still going on. The infrastructure of their country is destroyed. The same thing was done in Libya. How many years will it take to recover what they lost, let alone to move ahead? Things could get worse for all of us. An “us” and “them” approach is not the way out. We cannot focus on seeing others as the enemy and hope to bring about a New Ethiopia. TPLF leaders are in a position to do something to avert disaster; the opposition is too.
Reconciliation is the only way out but it is not a “free ride” for some must be humble enough to stand up to admit the truth and to be bold enough to choose change. From what we hear, people within the TPLF/EPRDF are panicking and trying to calculate their next move, but they and we are all caught in a trap. Like in the case of apartheid, someone—a leader or a group– must stop pretending that the Tigrayan region or many of the people, perhaps not all, have not benefited from the blatant, ethnic-based favoritism of the TPLF/EPRDF. The truth must be told. What has gone on is wrong, unjust and immoral. Some Tigrayans did not ask for this and had little choice in the matter. We understand this.
Some Tigrayans may already be ashamed of this and be ready to come out and say it. Be the first to do so. Come out and say loudly, “NOT IN MY ETHNIC NAME!” It will never be too late to say this. Some may already have stood up for what is true, right, just and fair and suffered for it at the hands this regime. Some Tigrayans, TPLF and EPRDF members may be disillusioned with the TPLF/ERPDF and be ready to leave it for good. Others never believed in it but joined to get a job or an education. Some will be ready to use the well-known excuse, “I was ordered to be part of the TPLF/ERPDF.” However, the commitment of most to the TPLF/EPRDF may be extremely shallow, except for some in top leadership who have the most to lose; yet, even they may be ready to stand up against it.
Now is the time for the truth to start coming out, no matter how painful it is; however, it must be genuine. Fake humility, fake apologies or fake talk of reconciliation that is opportunistic will never get us anywhere for hatred, deception and raw self-interest will remain in their hearts. Instead, we need a different kind of revolution.
The revolution that must start should begin in the heart, soul and mind of every person. Unlike the cry from the past to start a revolution from the grave of our enemy, our revolution must put to death a intergenerational system and mindset that has brought so many tears, so much blood and countless graves. This kind of thinking will never bring about a New Ethiopia. The vitriolic hatred and anger between the people of Ethiopia has gone on too long; with different groups claiming entitlements or grievances that have gone unresolved for decades or longer. The destructive politics that exclude “other” Ethiopians as “less worthy” or “less Ethiopian” or as “the enemy” should be buried for good. Some are so angry over years of injustices that they do not want to even hear the word “Ethiopia” or see the flag of Ethiopia or speak the national language of Ethiopia. The TPLF has spread this hatred but others have carried it on. Now everyone is alienated. Ethiopia may never have been colonized but has become tribally colonized because the worst aspects of tribalism have infected us.
Ethiopia is one of the few countries in the world where the constitution begins “we the tribes” rather than “we the people.” We are alienated within our “tribes” as well. This is fomented by some radicals at home, but especially in the Diaspora, and has created even more animosity. It has created a “Tigray versus us” dilemma that must be resolved if we are to build a New Ethiopia. This deadly poison must be detoxified, filtered out or drained from our system of self-destruction; or, like the analogy of the bumblebee at the beginning of this article, who kept trying the same useless ways to free itself, we also will fail to look up and see the way out.
Right now, everyone wants power and to be the next Meles and some opportunists will pick up on the language of reconciliation, without genuineness, as a shortcut to advancing themselves or their groups, but we the people should not allow a hijack before we ever have a chance to build a New Ethiopia based on putting humanity before ethnicity and where our system supports the freedom and rights of all our people, not just a few.
The exit strategy from failed, revolutionary, ethnic-based cycles of tyranny is reconciliation and the restoration of justice for all.For you bystanders, of all backgrounds—including Tigrayan, who have discarded “ethnic-liberation” for human or national liberation, your time has come. Your country needs you. For those of you who believe in reconciliation and the restoration of justice; it is now your time. This is what you have been waiting for; history does not have to be repeated. You have a message of life! We need to hear you!
Now, with the tension between the TPLF/EPRDF regime and a coalition of Muslims and Christians, the latter who have come out with a joint statement that they will be protesting together for religious freedom, starting this weekend and going into next week, has frightened the TPLF/EPRDF. It led the regime to warn the people to not come out on national television. Their warning has been ignored and a clash between the Muslims and the security forces has broken out today (7/13/12), leaving 4 protestors’ dead, 16 wounded and many more arrested.
There is a way out for you and for us but let us make sure it satisfies our thirst for justice and our hunger for what is right and good. Beware of the opportunists coming from all directions who would want to be the next TPLF/EPRDF; exploiting this window of opportunity for their own self-interests. The people of Ethiopia deserve more than a government that is simply somewhat better than the TPLF/EPRDF. Ethiopians seek a government of the people, for the people and by the people which will uphold the value and rights of all its citizens.
We in the SMNE urge Ethiopians to choose a new path to a New Ethiopia; one which will lead us away from imminent destruction and towards a more united, cooperative and prosperous Ethiopia.
In conclusion, we in the SMNE are ready to contribute our share and are also available to facilitate in any way we can.
May God’s hand of judgment be heavy on us as individuals and collectively as a society until our guilt turns us toward what is right, what is true and what is good. Only then will we be freed! May God fill each and every Ethiopian heart, soul and mind with love, forgiveness and a ready spirit to admit and correct wrong towards each other so that we become a blessing not only to the living of today but to those in generations to come.
May the name of our Almighty God, who calls us to choose the way of truth, love, justice and compassion, guide us on this previously untaken road to a New Ethiopia! ============================== ==============================
Please do not hesitate to e-mail your comments to Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE at: [email protected]. You can find more about us through our website at: www.solidaritymovement.org
The health and whereabouts of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi have become a subject of much speculation. The situation appears to border on panic, especially among regime loyalists. Addis Fortune, an otherwise compliant pro-government business publication chimes in with its own concerns.
Addis Fortune, July 8, 2012
Not surprisingly, and for obvious reasons, the health and well-being of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi have been the subject of intense discussion among members of the public. This came following photos released recently while he was in Mexico, where he was attending a summit by leaders of the group of 20 major economies (G20), and subsequent TV footage showing him receiving Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia’s transitional government.
In both images that the public was exposed to, it was clear that the Prime Minister had lost weight and visibly. With speculations wide and persistent, the source of his weight loss was thought by many to be due to failing health.
Such a public perception was only fed by his absence from the public’s view over the past two weeks and was intensified because Parliament has still not gone on recess for the summer, even although the country’s official fiscal year came to an end on Saturday, July 8, 2012. What Parliament was, rather, scheduled to discuss on this day was issues such as approving the minutes from its 43rd session, ratifying a bill on national IDs, and giving recognition to a team of surgeons who successfully conducted an unusual surgery on a child.
MPs have yet to accomplish two of the most important tasks in the year. Listening to the Prime Minister’s address to Parliament on the state of the federation during the just-concluded fiscal year and voting on his report as well as ratifying the federal budget’s bill for the fiscal year that just began, which was approved by the Council of Ministers four weeks ago. Gossip sees that neither of these can take place in the absence of the Prime Minister, indeed, unless, of course, there is a situation that dictates otherwise.
At the heart of all of this lies the issue of whether there is a health challenge that Meles is facing that prohibits him from conducting his official duties. The administration, through its spokesperson, Shimelis Kemal, state minister for the Government Communications Affairs Office, vehemently denied rumours that the Prime Minister has been ill. Some close to the Prime Minister have similar views and attribute his recent loss of weight to a diet that he might have started lately.
Coincidentally, it was at a time of such uncertainty that senior officials at the Ministry of Finance & Economic Development (MoFED) instructed, last week, a recall of letters copied to various federal offices in relation to settling medical bills paid on behalf of the Prime Minister, gossip claims. Meles was in London last year for an official visit, where he had a routine check-up, claims gossip.
The way that such bills get settled through the bureaucratic paper trail is for the Prime Minister’s Office to write a letter of request to the MoFED, upon which the latter transfers the funds to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), which actually undertakes the payment, according to gossip. Such was what the Prime Minister’s Office did to see that the medical bills for the London check-up were settled almost a year after, gossip claims. Accordingly, the guys at the MoFED have already transferred the money to the foreign office, disclosed gossip.
Nonetheless, for reasons not explained, the paper trails circulating within the various federal agencies in order to process the request have been recalled, claims gossip. A couple of days last week were spent on such an effort, fueling a new cycle of speculations on the well-being of the Prime Minister, according to gossip.
It looks like there is a lot more that the administration’s spin-doctors need to do on the public relations front to reassure an otherwise alarmed bureaucracy and public, before the grapevine spins things out of control, those at the gossip corridors agree.
No doubt that he has been outside of the country much of last week; whether that was for recovery due to exhaustion – and for skipping a couple of checkups last year – or something else, gossip disclosed. Nonetheless, some at the diplomatic corridor claim that he is now in a very good health, expected to have been back to Addis Abeba on Saturday night.
If, indeed, the Prime Minister was sick and is now recovering, there should be no reason to keep the public in the dark about the health of their leader, many at the gossip corridor agree.
Migrant Nightmares: Ethiopian Domestic Workers in the Gulf
By Graham Peebles | Dissidentvoice.org
July 3, 2012
Employment opportunities in Ethiopia are scarce, particularly for young women with only a basic education from rural areas where 85% of the population live. Many travel to the towns and cities in search of work, only to discover a barren job scene. The World Bank puts unemployment at 20.5% with a quarter of all 15-24 year olds being out of work. Unable to find anything in Ethiopia, some venture further afield to the Gulf States. Women that head to the Gulf are overwhelmingly single, between 20 and 30 years of age, and according to the Ministry of Labour and Special Affairs (MOLSA) 70% are Muslim. Almost a quarter cannot read or write.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in its 2011 report on Ethiopia documents a “huge increase in migration in and from Ethiopia, in particular by the youth,” — under 20’s make up 50% of the 85 million population. The numbers migrating to the Arabia Peninsula via all routes are increasing, with over 70,000 in 2011 making the perilous journey to Yemen, from where they seek somehow to find a way to other Gulf States. UNHCR Briefing Notes (20 January 2012) found that many Ethiopian arrivals still say they left home because of a lack of economic and livelihood opportunities. As economic migrants they see Yemen as a transit country. Naive and vulnerable they go with hope in their hearts in order to support their families and build a decent life for themselves, realising not the servitude and exploitation that all too often awaits them.
Agents and Gulf Numbers
Migrant domestic workers in Gulf countries can expect to earn $100 – $150 a month which, compared to the $12 a month maids are paid in Ethiopia, is a small fortune and the carrot that lures so many innocent and desperate. There are two “official” channels for women looking to work in the Gulf, the ‘Public’ migrant workers, registered with MOLSA, who secure work through personal contacts abroad and the 110 Private Employment Agencies (PEA), who work directly with employers or agencies in the relevant Gulf country. MOLSA say 30,000 a year are processed through these channels, and estimate a further 30,000 pass through illegal brokers. These may be individuals or companies, many of which are little more than criminal traffickers.
The PEAs and illegal brokers are overwhelmingly Muslim, commonly import/export traders in commodities, who have diversified into trading people. These ‘brokers’ see the women looking for work as simply another commodity to be packaged and sold. They know well the world in which they send the unsuspecting and care not. Bina Fernandez, in “Ethiopian Domestic Workers in The Gulf”, quotes the husband of the owner of Sabrine PEA, one of Ethiopia’s oldest agents: “I am in the business of exporting cattle from Ethiopia, while my wife exports women, and let me tell you, it is easier to export cattle [because there are fewer government regulations to comply with].”
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates there is between 53 and 100 million domestic workers worldwide, who clean, cook, and care for children and the elderly. Within the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) a staggering 50% of the 35 million population are migrant workers. In the UAE around 150,000 families employ 300,000 domestic workers and according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, “Walls at Every Turn“, Kuwait has 660,000 migrant domestic workers. That’s one for every two Kuwaiti’s. Extraordinary numbers, and still these workers have little or no legal labour protection and are not even considered employees within labour laws of the GCC. Lebanon’s Labor Code exclude trafficked domestic workers or ‘servants’ as they refer to them, from legal protection, no limit is placed on the hours a ‘servant’ can work or how many days per week, giving employers unlimited control.
There is, it seems, an unwritten contract between the Gulf dynasties and their citizens. The populace agrees to the regime’s unquestioned legitimacy in exchange for oil revenues being used to subsidise state welfare systems. Importing migrant workers to undertake the dirty work is part of this bargain. Bina Fernandez explains: “The state provides a leisured life in exchange for complete political control.” An important ingredient in such self-indulgent lifestyles is Domestic workers, a luxurious commodity and status symbol in a world built on image and materiality. Filipina women shine bright at the top of the human bling chain, followed by Indonesian and Sri Lankan, with African/Ethiopian women at the bottom. Human beings reduced to assets, to be used and abused as their owners see fit. Such is the attitude of many Gulf families to the fragile, lonely, isolated women in their charge.
Khafala Ownership
At the poisoned heart of the migrant domestic workers employment system throughout the GCC is the Khafala sponsorship. The scheme effectively grants ownership of migrants to the employer, fuels trafficking and all manner of abuse and exploitation. Bina Fernandez says that the “Workers’ legal presence in the country is tied to the Khafala, (sponsor/employer) who invariably confiscates their passports in order to control them.” HRW, in its report on trafficking, “As If I Am Not Human”, states that the system “creates a profound power imbalance between employers and workers and imposes tight restrictions on migrant workers rights.”
Domestic workers sleep, eat and work within the home of their employer, who they are completely dependent upon, legally and practically. Living with the family places the women in a highly vulnerable position.
The Khafala denies workers all independent rights, and creates a dangerous imbalance between employer and employee, placing all power with the sponsor. Workers’ freedom of movement is completely restricted by the employer. They can be confined to the house for weeks or months, and in many cases women are forced to continue working long past the completion of their contract and are not allowed to return home. This imprisonment contravenes Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states that:
(1) everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state; and,
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
In addition to enabling extensive abuse and exploitation of workers, employees seeing a business opportunity sell sponsorships to other families. This fuels resistance to its abolition, called for by human rights groups. Khafala is a major obstacle to the implementation of universal Labor Laws and international human rights conventions. It must be dismantled as a matter of urgency and safeguards protecting the rights of migrant workers accepted and implemented throughout the Gulf region.
Traffickers and Servitude
Arriving in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Beirut and Kuwait City airports, women are routinely met by a local agent, who is all too often instrumental in their exploitation and trafficking. The women are corralled into a special area of the airport, their passports and mobile phones confiscated, and they are driven to their employer’s home, where commonly they disappear. As HRW Head of Women’s Rights, Liesl Gerntholtz, says: “What is particularly striking about domestic workers is their invisibility. Once they come to the country, they disappear into people’s homes.” Isolated and held tightly within their employer’s house women are at risk of all manner of abuse. HRW, in its far reaching report, “Turning New Global Labour Standards Into Change On the Ground“ states: “Domestic workers are typically isolated and shielded from public scrutiny… are at heightened risk of mistreatment, including physical, sexual and psychological abuse; food deprivation and forced confinement.”
Much mistreatment that domestic workers are subjected to constitutes trafficking. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, signed and ratified by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait but pointedly, not Lebanon or indeed Ethiopia, defines trafficking as amongst other things, “(a) the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power.” This clearly covers the Khafala sponsorship and the entrapment of workers within employers’ homes. Exploitation is also a key element in the legal criteria for trafficking. The UN Protocol states, “the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual prostitution and forced labour, or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude.”
One further form of imprisonment that comes under the trafficking umbrella is debt bondage. Many Ethiopian women are tied into deeply exploitative and damaging working sentences by debt bondage, or bonded/forced labour. Inflated fees charged by unscrupulous agents for placing workers or spurious charges levied for moving employer are often passed on to women workers, many of which “find that deductions of 90 to 100 percent of their salaries are withheld to cover recruitment and placement fees. Depending on the country, migrant domestic workers may work for three to ten months without ever receiving a wage.” (HRW in “As If I am Not Human”.) This ‘debt’ is used to trap them in servitude. Some report being held ‘captive’ without their passport, their wages withheld for the full two year term. As HRW records: “Some were under direct or indirect threat from employers or agents of being trafficked into forced prostitution, charged substantial fines if they did not finish their contracts, or being abandoned far from home.” These are not brokers/agents in any recognisable legitimate sense of the word, but common criminals engaged in human trafficking and the destruction of lives. It is time they were treated as such by the judicial system.
Violence and Despair
The catalogue of reported cases of criminal treatment and physical abuse suffered by migrant workers, including murder, rape, beatings, burning and verbal insults, is endless. The HRW report “The Domestic Workers Convention (DWC)” documents many cases including this one in Saudi Arabia. “She beat me until my whole body burned. She beat me almost every day… She would beat my head against the stove until it was swollen. She threw a knife at me but I dodged it. This behavior began from the first week I arrived.” Sexual harassment and abuse is commonplace, and leads many women to despair.
The Arab Times reports a stream of cases; for instance, on the 27th February 2012, “Police are looking for a 23 year old Ethiopian housemaid who ran away from her sponsor’s house… after her sponsors three sons raped her.” The same news source documents the case of “An Ethiopia housemaid [who] died after her Kuwaiti sponsor (allegedly) beat her.” The 2011 annual report on trafficking (US Secretary of State Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons), ranks Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait is Tier 3 – the lowest possible category.
According to the report all three are destination countries for women and children subject to forced labour, sex trafficking and myriad forms of abuse, including severe beatings, slapping and attacks using weapons, such as shoes, belts, sticks, electrical cables and kitchen items. In some cases the HRW report states “physical abuse is so severe it has lead to paralysis, blindness and death.”
The case of Alem Dechesa is the most widely publicized example of mistreatment. She supposedly hanged herself (unthinkable for an Orthodox Christian) in a mental health institution in Beirut, after being dragged and beaten by the recruitment agent in front of the Ethiopian consulate where she had sought and been denied refuge. Shame on the Ethiopian authorities, who once again displayed indifference to the needs of their citizens. The Guardian (9/4/12) claims: “Alem’s case has lifted the lid on the plight of migrant workers in Lebanon… HRW says one migrant worker dies each week in Lebanon from suicide or other causes.”
Sleepless in the Gulf
For many women there is no sanctity to be found in sleep even, which is often denied workers imprisoned and enslaved within many Gulf households, where they can be forced to sleep in store-rooms, cupboards, utility rooms where they are acutely vulnerable to sexual abuse. Made to work from early morning until well into the night, with no days off, women have little or no rest and are often fed rotting or poor quality food. HRW in DWC states: “In some cases domestic workers are literally starved.” Such inhumane treatment pushes the most vulnerable to self-harm, causes mental breakdowns and, in deep despair, suicide.
Some attempt to flee their employer and escape the torment; however, there are many dangers associated with running away. With no passport or money, women on the streets are in a precarious position. If caught by the police, they risk being sexually abused, and may be returned to an enraged employer. In Lebanon workers who leave their employer’s house without permission automatically loose their legal status. Those that are not caught seek out other Ethiopian women living on the outside. The runaways live together in small rented rooms, take on freelance domestic work, sell illicit alcohol and resort to prostitution. They live hidden lives and are completely abandoned by the Ethiopian Consulate, who is guilty of neglecting all domestic workers and regard freelancers as delinquents who have broken their employment contract. They fail to recognize the exploitation and mistreatment the women have suffered at the hands of abusive sponsors and agents and their responsibility to protect their citizens in a foreign land.
Laws for the Unprotected
Victims in a chain of usury and exploitation, migrant domestic workers trapped into slavery by poverty, lack of opportunity and fear of worse need the protection written into international law to be enforced. In addition to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, which deals with many of the offenses being currently committed, the great hope for domestic workers worldwide is the ILO Domestic Workers Convention 189. Passed in June 2011, crucially with all Gulf States voting in favour, Convention 189 is a huge step forward in securing domestic workers’ labour rights. Ratifying states are required to ensure the effective promotion and protection of the human rights of all workers, as the ILO makes clear: “The landmark treaty setting standards for the treatment of domestic workers…. has been widely hailed as a milestone,” it “aims at protecting and improving the working and living conditions of domestic workers worldwide.” When implemented and enforced domestic workers will finally have recourse to law and potentially much abuse and exploitation currently so prevalent would be largely eradicated.
It is a long overdue legislative structure that will enter into legal force one year after ratification by two countries, (2013 earliest). Urgent and sustained pressure needs to be applied on all states to ratify this important convention. It is time long overdue that domestic migrant workers be lifted out of the shadows of slavery, abuse and exploitation into the light of decency and respect where their human and moral rights are adhered too.
In a positive move Saudi Arabia and the UAE have proposed new laws, which albeit inadequate and full of contradictions, at least recognise domestic workers as human beings, entitled to the same rights as other employees. The rule of international law must be applied to and within Gulf States where widespread inhumane treatment of domestic workers takes place and domestic labour laws reformed in line with international standards.
As Ethiopian migrant domestic workers are less expensive and easier to manipulate than other nationals, demand for them within the GCC and neighbouring states will no doubt continue. The Ethiopian Government must, as a matter of urgency, begin to offer them support, establish female support groups and demand justice where complaints of mistreatment are investigated and substantiated.
Within Ethiopia long-term measures in education and the creation of employment opportunities for women are essential. Tighter controls must be applied to recruitment agents and steps taken to root out illegal brokers involved in trafficking to Gulf States, where such horrendous abuse is allowed to take place, destroying the lives of so many vulnerable young women.
Graham Peebles is Director of The Create Trust, a UK registered charity. He worked in the West Bank in 2009, running a series of education workshops for Palestinian children. He can be reached at: [email protected].
In a blatant miscarriage of justice, a Woyanne Kangaroo court in Ethiopia today found Eskinder Nega and twenty-three other political opponents of the regime guilty on bogus terrorism charges. The only thing Eskinder Nega and other political prisoners are guilty of is speaking the truth and criticizing the regime for its brazen violations of human rights. Dictator Minister Zenawi is emboldened by the uncritical support he receives from the Obama Administration and other Western leaders. Consequently, Zenawi is on a rampage to bully his critics and stamp out any semblance of opposition. The world is allowing a serial miscarriage of justice because Zenawi is an ally in the so-called war on terror.
Ethiopia court finds 24 guilty of terrorism
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Twenty-four Ethiopians, including a leading opposition figure and a prominent journalist, faced life in prison Wednesday after a court found them guilty on charges of terrorism.
“Guilty as charged,” judge Endeshaw Adane said, referring to journalist Eskinder Nega, opposition member Andualem Arage and 22 others accused of links to US-based group Ginbot 7, considered a terrorist group under Ethiopian law, and other outlawed groups.
Under the anti-terrorism legislation, the defendants face the death sentence, but the prosecutor recommended life sentences for the 24, only eight of whom were present in court.
Both Eskinder and Andualem were found guilty of “participation in a terrorist organisation” and “planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt of (a) terrorist act.”
Andualem was also found guilty of serving as a “leader or decision maker of a terrorist organisation.” Another less prominent opposition member was also among the group convicted Wednesday.
Endeshaw said Eskinder abused his freedom of speech and accused him of threatening national security.
“Freedom of speech can be limited when it used to undermine security and not used for the public interest,” he said.
He was arrested last year after publishing articles asking whether the Arab Spring uprisings could have an influence in Ethiopia and questioning the arrests of Ethiopians under the country’s anti-terrorism law.
Five of the defendants, including Eskinder and Andualem, will reappear in court on July 13 to present their mitigating circumstances.
