ውበት ያለው ግን የተመጠነ (ደብዳቤ ከደሊላ ዱኪ ዘገዬ)

Yetemetene ena wubet yalew…

Why Zenawi Betrayed Africa’s Trust at the Copenhagen Climate Summit

Selam Beyene, Ph.D. (Beyene50@gmail.com)

African diplomats, most of whom had brashly stood by Zenawi when he violently crushed a pro-democracy movement in 2005, naively expressed shock and incredulity at his betrayal of their trust at the recent Copenhagen Climate Conference [1,2].

As heralded by this [3] and numerous other authors [see, e.g., 4,5] before the ill-fated conference, Zenawi had a sinister agenda when he successfully lobbied corrupt African diplomats in Addis to get the nomination as a spokesperson for Africa.

The dictator has been in serious desperation to get the attention of the West after he lost the cover of “War on Terror” that he had successfully exploited to enjoy the full support of the Bush Administration and other Western powers. Despite his atrocious records of crimes against humanity, corruption and suppression of basic human rights, these powers looked the other way when the dictator massacred peaceful demonstrators in the aftermath of his humiliating defeat in the elections of 2005, and propped up his tyrannical rule with billions of dollars in aid that he plundered with no accountability and squandered on expensive lobbying campaigns to thwart congressional measures intended to promote democracy and good governance in Ethiopia [6].

To the furtively resourceful tyrant, a visible position at the Climate Conference was hence the only hope of getting the attention the West, and especially that of the Obama administration, whose rhetoric of democracy and social justice had sent terrifying signals to the despot.

With the specter of the 2005 massacre still haunting him, Zenawi saw the position endowed upon him by African diplomats as a valuable tool to earn legitimacy among Western powers and to ensure their tacit assent as he prepares to violently thwart again the aspirations of the Ethiopian people for democracy in the upcoming May 2010 elections.

In view of the mounting evidence pointing at his atrocities [7], he has also been frantically seeking means of garnering the sympathy of the West in the likely eventuality of charges for his crimes against humanity. Betrayal of members of the African Union, an institution that has proven a loyal subservient to him, was therefore an effective measure toward that end without any adverse consequence.

With the dwindling financial aid, thanks in part to the irrelevance of his ploy as an ally in the War on Terror, and, more generally, to the impact of the global economic downturn on the capacity of donor nations to squander money on the dictator, a quick source of hard-currency, however meager, was also a matter of great urgency for the dictator. The lofty goals of the nations of Africa, in whose names he earned visibility, were therefore expendable in the eyes of a dictator, whose track records as a leader are characterized by myopic self-interest, ethnocentrism, poor governance, corruption and environmental degradation.

It was thus a foregone conclusion that Zenawi would forgo any viable long-term international accord for a short-term gain, and that he would easily agree, as he has reprehensibly and egoistically done so, to the reduction of the billions of dollars from what African leaders had agreed or to the 2°C commitment that many campaigners claim would threaten the lives of hundreds of millions of people in Africa [8].

If the Obama administration engages in the discredited Bush-era diplomacy, sacrificing its hallmarks of social justice and democracy for short-term diplomatic expediency, then it has not learned the bitter lessons of its predecessors. To the chagrin of many Ethiopian supporters, the White House confirmed, as reported in the Los Angeles Times [9]:

“… He [President Obama] expressed his appreciation for the leadership role the Prime Minister [Zenawi] was playing in work with African countries on climate change, and urged him to help reach agreement at the Leaders summit later this week in Copenhagen. For his part, Prime Minister Meles stressed the importance of success in Copenhagen, and the need to find ways to make suitable progress on the mitigation, adaptation, and the provision of finance for the developing countries.”

The people of Africa in general, and of Ethiopia in particular, hailed President Obama, when he declared [10]:

“America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation – the essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny. What we will do is increase assistance for responsible individuals and institutions, with a focus on supporting good governance – on parliaments, which check abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard; on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice; on civic participation, so that young people get involved; and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting, automating services, strengthening hotlines, and protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability.”

If good governance, transparency and accountability are the guiding principles of American foreign aid under Obama, then it is hard to envisage that the President has not digressed from the path of justice when he initiated a dialogue with a dictator who has some of the worst records of any leader in each of the stated parameters.

We do agree with the President’s affirmation [11]: “We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning,….” Accordingly, it is high time for the Obama administration to live up to its professed ideals and to make a new beginning in dealing with dictators. We trust the Obama administration would have the courage and wisdom to depart from the discredited policies of yesteryear when long-term stability took backseat to short-term diplomatic pragmatism.

As widely reported, no sooner had Zeanwi received the nod of the West, at the expense of the trust of Africa, than he ordered his kangaroo court to sentence to death potential opponents on trumped up charges [12]. He has intensified his attacks on the free press, as evidenced by the recent flights of respected journalists out of the country [see, e.g.,13,14], and has effectively silenced all political dissent. He has kept credible political opponents, like Birtukan Mideksa, in prison [15], and is using mafia-like tactics to intimidate and frustrate opposition groups [16]. To avoid another humiliating defeat in the capital and other cities and towns in the May 2010 elections, every eligible voter employed by the government or runs a major private enterprise is under duress to sign up as a card-holding member of Zenawi’s party. In the rural areas, where farmers are at the absolute mercy of the dictator to till the land or get access to fertilizers, opposition groups are completely shut out to rule out any credible threats to the despot.

Ethiopians in the Diaspora have a historic responsibility to ensure that Zenawi does not use his newly-earned notoriety to garner Western support and tacit acquiescence as he embarks on his vicious campaign to violently thwart once again the aspiration of the Ethiopian people for democracy in the upcoming elections. They should continue to mobilize their resources and influence the Obama administration and other Western powers from becoming accomplices in the evil gambits of the tyrant.

Opposition leaders should come to the realization that there is no more pressing matter, or nobler cause, or greater party agenda than the need to stand in unison and salvage Ethiopia from the cancerous tyranny of Meles Zenawi and his repressive machinery. The deliverance of the people can become a reality only when the leaders are prepared to forfeit egotism, party loyalty and petty bickering, and are determined to fight to the end, paying the ultimate consequences, with an enemy that may project vacuous invincibility and power, but has in essence no longevity or resilience.

[1] http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/15/corruption-sarkozy-obama-pressure-ethiopias-zenawi-to-betray-africas-future/
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SanrX-0pq5w&feature=player_embedded
[3] http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/11401
[4] http://www.ethiomedia.com/course/4591.html
[5] http://www.mcgillreport.org/zenawi
[6] http://harpers.org/archive/2007/07/hbc-90000631
[7] http://www.ethiomedia.com/course/the_anuak_massacre.pdf
[8] http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/climate-change/copenhagen-accord-4.30pm.pdf
[9] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2009/12/obama-dials-for-copenhagen-deal.html
[10] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/11/obama-ghana-speech-full-t_n_230009.html
[11] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/04/obama-speech-in-cairo-vid_n_211215.html
[12] http://www.ethiomedia.com/course/us_on_ethiopia.pdf
[13] http://www.ethiomedia.com/course/4605.html
[14] http://addisvoice.com/article/ethiopian_paper_quits_under_gove.htm
[15] http://www.ethioguardian.com/news.php?extend.3318
[16] http://addisvoice.com/article/government_fails.htm

The Yakobian Muddle

By Melaku Yismaw

There is nothing as damaging in political discourse and struggle as throwing in the bone of irrelevance and muddying the political discourse. Yakob Haile Mariam’s diatribe against the Left and almost all the political groups is one clear example of an irrelevance thrown unto the political podium to kick out the real issues out of sight.

I never knew that Yakob HM cut his tooth or teeth in Marxism-Leninism though he pretends to have done so. He was a short time member of the EPRP for sure but that does not make of him an automatic ML as many within this party were actually unaware of the essence and intricacies of the ideology. This is why Yakob dares to assert that Marxism-Leninism is against tolerance and civil discourse and goes on to mention that Lenin called his enemies scoundrels and vermin. Poor Lenin! Pretentious Yakob. Calling Lidetu a traitor and Yakob himself an opportunist and one time TPLF lackey is no insult but just a statement of the fact. Yakob preached compromise with the Weyane and he thus cannot understand those who say no compromise with this ruthless enemy of Ethiopia. The man who expounded so eloquently on petty bourgeois infantilism (Lenin) knew and said more about compromise than Yakob the self-declared one time Marxist-Leninist. Where Yakob differs is in the fact that his compromise involves principles and comes out as damaging and dangerous opportunism. Like working with Meles Zenawi, like diluting the struggle of the CUD and causing its break up and like betraying one’s own comrades and friends. To allege that civil discourse was alien to the Left in Ethiopia is utter nonsense shouted without shame. As for compromise, there are so many examples of exemplary compromise that make Yakob’s allegation one big lie to cover one’s present political yoyo and abandonment of an imprisoned person he used to hail as a leader. Yakob was a visible person at the Toronto meeting that tried to form a united front (before the fall of the Derg) in which former foes like Meisone, EPRP and EDU were trying to come together. That effort was sabotaged by the CIA (read commodore Tassew’s memoirs for details) and subsequent efforts to form a united front in time were sabotaged by Yakob himself in league with Efrem Yishak, the TPLF and others. When the TPLF came to power, Yakob abandoned all pretext of struggle and went in hands up to suffer the vile insults of the balege Netsanet Asfaw. Is this the example of compromise? Was not the UEDF, sabotaged later by Lidetu and others, a very good example of compromise? Is calling Weizero weyane Netsanet “balege” an insult? Is calling Azeb Gola a thief and a scum of the earth an insult?

Yakob’s attack against the Ethiopian Left and those who struggled and still struggle steadfastly against the Meles regime confirms who he really is and no more. He is talking about something he does not really know about, be it the ideology, be it the rigors of firm struggle and/or be it the meaning of sacrifice and courage in the face of adversity. Yakob has muddled ahead by trying to make the age of the political leaders a big and primary issue. Yet another bone of confusion in the beggar’s soup. He calls upon those he calls the old guard to resign and hand over to younger elements. Old is bad and young is good does not work as is even for wine. Mengistu was relatively young man when he slaughtered millions and most Derg members were not very old also. Meles was and is not old though Sebhat Nega is. Even Sebahat was stale and narrow back then in his youth. Lidetu betrayed the people and he is young. Political problems are linked to political stands and views and not to the age of the person. Yakob has not handed over to Bertukan but has handed her over to Meles and abandoned her in her hours of need. We can of course claim that the UDJ is better off without the likes of Yakob but that is not a line of argument the good doctor and rich poultry farmer would accept. CUD’s problem was not also linked to age but to political atrophy, rivalry, ego and because some leaders sold out to the Weyane.

In general, the assertion that the young should replace the old is not to be contested. In general. But in the present Ethiopian context, this is not the issue; this is not the core of the malaise that is weakening the opposition as a whole. Age is a non issue except for some political Turks who want to oust their older rivals or others who want to resign claiming they are doing so to give place to younger ones while in reality they are abandoning to avoid an impending storm or catastrophe. Age is a non issue brought up by Yakob to confuse the whole political discourse and hence the Yakobian muddle that ought to be avoided. Our main problem as an opposition force is not because the leaders of organizations are old age wise but because they are outmoded politically and ideologically, As Yakob shouts against leftist ideology with all the confidence of the uninformed he does not mention the fact that his present ideology leaves much to be desired in all fields. Political struggle is inherently tied to ideological struggle; it deals with stances and choices. Political struggle involves labelling and name calling, it is aimed at getting the opponent no support or backing. Even in western democracies political struggles are intense and someone like Yakob could even consider them uncivilized. In other words, calling a traitor traitor, a Banda banda, an opportunist an adr bye, a thief a lebba and a coward a feri is not to lack civility at all. It is not calling the spade a spade that should be considered a mistake. Parties and groups have been split or attacked by the virus of division not because one has insulted another but due to political differences. And some of these differences cannot be reconciled, you cannot “machachal” them at all. Those who say the Weyane regime is not our enemy and those who say it is cannot compromise. The Banda and the patriot are not one and the same. That Yakob still fails to understand is symptomatic of his malady: sickening political opportunism. Now, that is a real problem we should all discuss in order to find a way of ending it!

የአፍ ልቀት፣ የመለስ ቅጥፈት

- yaff leqet-ye’Meles qetfet

Giressa

MUKKKA KOTTO

Dictator Without Borders

There are dictators and there are purist dictators. The first group of dictators have the minimum intelligence required to notice and somehow accept when their time is up. They reluctantly give in realizing the fact that time and history are not on their side. The latter group, however, believes that the principles of dictatorship should not be adulterated or diluted. As a result they continue to rot in their bubble, failing to wake up when the smoke detector goes off. Since this group of dictators are chronically delusional they keep telling themselves, ‘I am in control’, ‘Things are fine’, ‘I will crush my opponents’, so on and so forth. They have extremely exaggerated versions of their own self worth. Adolf Hitler, Nicolai Ceausescu, Benito Mussolini, Samuel Doe, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Mengistu Hailemariam, Slobodan Milosevic, and yes, the current menace, Meles Zenawi, fit into this band of dictators. They regularly have to invent a narrative to nourish their egomaniacal personalities. The narrative is primarily based on their insistence that their version of the truth is not only superior but also absolute.

On December 11, 2009, Meles Zenawi demonstrated his delusional personality in front of local journalists (a.k.a. handpicked TPLF cadres). Answering a broad range of pre-planted “questions” (http://www.ethiotube.net/video/6974/PM-Meles-Zenawi-Press-Conference-on-Current-Issues–Dec-11-2009–Part-1), he jumped from one topic to the other without a semblance of coherence or a discernable pattern. Among the questions asked was the issue of possibly forming a national unity government in the next election, modelling the power sharing arrangements of Kenya and Zimbabwe. The answer he offered clearly revealed the inside workings of Meles Zenawi’s brain. One can pick two clear signs of delusion from this particular answer. First, instead of answering the question within the context of the Ethiopian political process, he chastised the political compromise made by Kenyan and Zimbabwean politicians. In this regard, I believe he still thinks he is in the Dedebit Mountain, and he is the leader of a guerrilla movement, not a leader of an internationally recognized state. Second, I say this because in doing so he violates one of the basic tenants of international relations and international diplomacy. This is the non-interference by outside leaders, in particular dictators, in the internal affairs of any sovereign nation moving toward democracy. While Zenawi grips tightly to the principle of non-interference when others challenge his human rights record, he ignores it when pointing toward the Kenyan and Zimbabwean processes, which are actually moving in a constructive and inclusive direction. A very convenient contradiction in support of one thing: absolute dictatorship…without borders.

The questioner asked about the possibility of a national unity government (if the need arises in the next election) modelling the Kenyan and Zimbabwean experience? “As for the so-called Kenyan and Zimbabwean model,” Mr. Zenawi said, “one must understand the strategy of the color revolution organizers in its entirety.” According to Mr. Zenawi, the strategy of the color revolution organizers is divided in to three stages. “ Their first goal is to achieve power through post-election chaos.” If that fails, he said, “They are prepared to settle for national unity government. Once they succeed that, their final goal is to remove the ruling parties of their respective countries from power.” He went further and said, “ This approach of rewarding the leaders of the color revolution is not only wrong, it is also undemocratic.” In an accusatory tone, he further elaborated on the Kenyan experience. “ In the case of Kenya” he said, “politicians agreed to form a national unity government after instigating religious and ethnic violence between the Kenyan people. The path Kenyan and Zimbabwean leaders took in power sharing is a path of chaos, destruction and most of all is undemocratic. Therefore, my government and my party do not intend to follow this path. It has no chance in Ethiopia.”

The United Nations Charter clearly states: No State has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly for any reason whatever in the internal or external affairs of any other State. Consequently, armed intervention and all other forms of interference or attempted intervention and all forms of interference or attempted threats against the personality of the state or against political, economic and cultural elements are concerned.

The African Union Charter also clearly states under no circumstances can one country interfere in the domestic (internal) affairs of another country. Contrary to these international covenants, Meles Zenawi has waded into the domestic affairs of Kenya and Zimbabwe. He even went as far as saying that the formation of national unity governments amounts to “rewarding the leaders of the Velvet revolution” here; without mentioning them by name he is referring to Prime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe. International diplomacy 101, even for junior level diplomats let alone for someone who claims to be a leader of a country is clear: Don’t meddle in the internal affairs of a state.

The formation of national unity governments in Kenya and Zimbabwe has been aided by national and international heavy weight diplomats. In the case of Kenya, for instance, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan personally facilitated the process and helped Mr. Mwai Kibaki’s Party of National Unity Party and Mr. Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement party reach an agreement. It is clear that these governments are steps on the way to real democracy, but at least they are steps. As a chief negotiator of Kenya’s power sharing arrangement, Kofi Annan said: “ I have the firm impression that sufficient political will now exists among the coalition partners and sufficient unity of purpose exists among the public at large to provide Kenya with a historic opportunity for peaceful transformation. Yet, this is a time of immense challenge for Kenya. It is also time of great hope. By becoming together as one people, in pursuit of shared objectives, I am confident that Kenyans will overcome the difficulties of the past, restore confidence in Kenya as a unified nation and serve as a source of inspiration for people far beyond the country’s borders.”

Ironically, the same man who was charged with the task of representing Africa at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, Zenawi, shows no respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a member state, as he shows no respect for democracy itself. Kenya is one country that I am familiar with and for which I have a special affection and affinity. In the mid-1980s when I was forced to leave Ethiopia due to the atrocities of the military regime, Kenya was my destination. It is there that I was welcomed with open arms and provided refugee status until I moved to Canada. I know the decency and generosity of the Kenyan people. By all accounts, they deserve respect and at least non-interference in their internal matters. Whatever political path they choose should be left to the Kenyan people and their elected leaders. An un-elected tyrant like Meles Zenawi has no business telling them how to govern themselves. I hope the authorities in both Kenya and Zimbabwe take notice and demand an explanation from this unruly regime, which still behaves in accordance with the law of the jungle, and does not know or understand the basics tenants of international relations.

What is inferred in Meles Zenawi’s statement is the following: The acceptance of a national unity government by Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Kibaki sets a dangerous precedent for him and other delusional tyrants. If the trend continues in this direction, he is the next one to be forced to share his AK47 earned helm of power with others. Therefore, he has to clearly oppose this kind of government before anyone gets the idea of applying it to Ethiopia.

The problem with this thought is that the next time around it is him and himself alone who should be pleading for a national unity government. Whether or not he agrees, the wind of change will soon reach his office. The question is not if but when. Our concern is whether he would follow the path of Ceausescu, Samuel Doe, his predecessor Mengistu Hailemariam, or would he learn from Mugabe and Kibaki. In the meantime, Mr. Zenawi, if you are contemplating adding another ‘NGO’ into your business enterprise, the name Dictators Without Borders is not taken and it fits your Curriculum Vitae perfectly.

The writer could be reached at alem671@hotmail.com

_________________________________________________
1. http://www.ethiotube.net/video/6974/PM-Meles-Zenawi-Press-Conference-on-Current-Issues–Dec-11-2009–Part-1
2. http: www.Africa-union.org/au/Documents/Treaties/text/OAU_charter_1963.pdf
3. http://www.dialoguekenya.org/docs/End-of-yeararticlebyH.E.Kofiannan.pdf

Lessons to be learned

From Gemencho

The recent move by the AEUP leader , Engineer Hailu, to join the Weyane camp, has rightfully caused sadness and anger by Ethiopians at home and abroad. Few had expected that a man who was otherwise called as “the lion of Ethiopia” would surrender his publicly declared principle and betray all those who believed in him. It is telling to witness at an old age an insatiable appetite to eat and participate in the destruction of the country still has control over one’s sense of being. Suffice it to say, the Engineer has made the choice which Ethiopians will definitely 32put into account as they continue their struggle without him and against him.

At the same time, it is important to go beyond the Engineer himself and look into the ideological frame work which he and his likes are shaped by, in order to give meaning to his act. For he is neither the first or would he be the last to do so.

Around the time Congo gained its independence, Lumumba had warned his fellow Africans about the prospect of a new round of colonialism in post-colonial Africa. Behind the euphoria of independence, he was looking at the lurking danger, that was about to hit the continent, which was a new round of colonization, but this time, through a new breed of African elite. Others (Fanon, 1967, Ngugi, 1987, Tuma ,2002,) have followed suite by examining this process, as one of colonialism’s successful cultural projects. No more is the colonizer’s presence needed for colonialism to remain in place. There is a native elite domesticated enough to do the job with the conviction and diligence of a missionary. In their view, this elite, outside of its skin color has no roots in Africa, its history, dreams and imaginations, and the struggle for human rights and democracy could ignore this fact at its own peril..
Perhaps, no one is best situated, than the Ethiopian people to be aware of what the aforementioned Pan-African thinkers and writers talked about. Life under the present ruling regime has provided them the lesson. Through the Weyanes and their intellectual cadres, Ethiopians have come to know well about the geneology of the domesticated African elite; of its capacity to become an occupier.

Such was the lesson they had in their grasp when they responded in 2005, with enthusiasm, to a call for a peaceful struggle to bring down the regime. Hoping and expecting the call was sincere and principled they rallied their hearts and minds behind it, and showed their readiness to act. They voted to remove the regime out of office, and when they realized their vote did not count, they took their streets to take matters into their own hands. But they were soon to learn that the call had little to do with their concerns and wishes.

What was coming from the callers’ camp was at best blurring the divide between the people and the regime. The callers showed an unreasoned faith on the power of the ballot box, disregarding the fact that it was entirely out of the reach of the people. They used slogans that were abstract and meaningless, like the peace sign and the “spirit” chant that served the regime more than strengthening the momentum of the struggle. Some of them were even blunt in insisting openly, that they were not for a radical change. It soon became self evident to the people, about the nature and mission of the callers. They were no Gandhis or Mandellas, but street smart peddlers, who seized the opportunity of a political space that was denied for the nationalists, to play nationalism, and peaceful struggle, up to a point. And when the dust settled, some joined the regime in the parliament, while others played an active role in sabotaging what would have been a very promising peoples’ uprising, before they took a plane to a safe exile abroad.

And the people have gained yet another lesson. The demands of Ethiopian nationalism are too high a personal and ideological price for the domesticated elite to pay. The Engineer happens to be one of them.
.
References

Memmi, A. (1965). The Colonizer and the Colonized. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Thiongo’o. N. (1987). Decolonizing the Mind. London: Heinemann Publishers.
Tuma, H. (2002). African Absurdities. Washington, D.C: Bambaho Publishers.

Ethnocentrism is an AIDS if not Cancer

article 000

Zenawi’s Devious Ploy for the Copenhagen Climate Conference

Selma Beyene, Ph.D., Beyene50@gmail.com

As the rest of the world awaits with great expectations for a successful outcome of the Climate Conference in Copenhagen, Zenawi has been honing a Machiavellian gambit to exploit his hard-earned role as a representative of Africa to advance his vicious political and economic agenda.

A dictator who has no respect for fundamental human rights and who has one of the worst environmental records in the history of Ethiopia has no moral authority to rear his head as a champion of climate change for the people of Africa.

It is hard to disagree with the notion that industrialized countries have much to atone for with regard to their contribution to the environmental catastrophe in countries like Ethiopia. However, these countries should not exacerbate the hardship their actions have wreaked on the people by handing over in haste compensatory money to dictators who would only use it to buttress their oppressive machinery and to fatten their foreign bank accounts.

Indeed, the environmental and humanitarian damage caused by Zenawi’s autocratic and corrupt regime in Ethiopia is incalculable. Below are a few examples that give a glimpse of the relentless onslaught of the dictator against the fragile environment of the country in his tragic crusade to oppress the people and plunder the wealth of that poor nation.

• Massive deforestation, thanks to Zenawi’s insatiable desire to amass hard-currency, has contributed to continued environmental degradation, poverty and famine in the country. According to one report, in the first few years of Zenawi’s repressive rule, “… between 1990 and 2005, Ethiopia lost 14.0% of its forest cover, or around 2,114,000 hectares”[1]. A case in point is his recent campaign to sell the more fertile parts of the country to multinational farmers without regard to the ecological consequences. As reported in the November 22, 2009 issue of the New York Times Magazine [2]:

“Zenawi, a former Marxist rebel who has turned into a champion of private capital, has publicly said he is very eager to attract foreign farm investors by offering them what the government describes as virgin land. An Ethiopian agriculture ministry official recently told Reuters that he has identified more than seven million acres. The government plans to lease half of it before the next harvest, at the dirt-cheap annual rate of around 50 cents per acre.”

• The dictator has banned private ownership of land and used it as a tool for the subjugation of the rural population. As a consequence, he has encouraged unsustainable land utilization and inevitable environmental degradation. As affirmed by the aforementioned New York Times Magazine report [2]:

“This land-tenure policy has made it possible for a one-party state to hand over huge tracts to investors at nominal rents, in secrecy, without the bother of a condemnation process.”

The problem was summed up in the October 26, 2009 issue of the Herald Scotland, which stated:

“Ethiopia’s land, post-Mengistu, still belongs to the state and cannot be sold. ….. One consequence is that state land gets divided and sub-divided among the families who sit on it. Plots become so tiny and the soil so exhausted that it cannot feed the families who work it – even in times of normal rainfall.”

• Utilizing famine as a weapon of mass repression [3], Zenawi has systematically instituted policies that contributed in major ways to the recurrent drought and human tragedy in that country. According to a recent UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report [4], 35 million Ethiopians or about 44% of the total population are malnourished, and that the country has the largest proportion of malnourished people in the world!

• The dictator has instituted draconian laws to restrict the activities of NGOs who work in the field of human rights and other areas that are incompatible with the corrupt and repressive policies of the regime. In particular, the law has severely curbed the ability of environmental NGOs to educate the public at large on climate change issues and to expose the destructive environmental policy of Zenawi’s deceitful government.

Why has Zenawi desperately campaigned to secure invitation at the Copenhagen Climate Conference?

The dictator’s resourcefulness when it comes to hoodwinking donor nations through appearances at major summits has been well documented [5]. At G8 and G20 summits, he has insolently and callously exploited the famine and poverty that he has inflicted on the people as means of shaming wealthy nations into giving him billions of dollars in aid.

Predictably, he has now seen even greater opportunity in the Copenhagen Conference, and has assiduously lobbied corrupt African diplomats to nominate him as an African Union’s chief negotiator. As reported in the November 20, 2009 issue of the Daily Nation, Zenawi, true to form, was quick to ask “…the rich industrialised nations to compensate the less developed Africa for the impact of global warming”[6].

Having been rejected by the people of Ethiopia in successive elections, another even more sinister motive for his obsession about invitation to major meetings is the desire to earn legitimacy and to divert attention from his appalling human rights records and crimes against humanity. The timing of the upcoming Climate Conference is particularly opportune as the venue is expected to provide much needed visibility at home and abroad while he intensifies his blatant attacks to cripple any potential opposition in the May 2010 elections.

Just a few weeks before the Climate Conference, the dictator gave a deceiving gesture of rapprochement by orchestrating a highly publicized and theatrical ceremony of reconciliation with a prominent leader of one of the opposition groups [7]. He quickly used the occasion to silence international critiques and to appease those donor nations who only needed a pretext to prop up his repressive regime. After an intensive barrage of propaganda to publicize the event to gullible international observers, he has now embarked on an even more terrifying campaign of sniffing out any viable opposition and squashing it ruthlessly. As acknowledged by Karl Wycoff, deputy assistant secretary of state for East African Affairs, after a recent visit to the country, even the US is concerned by the “… reduction in political space and the ability of opposition parties to operate and do what opposition parties should do” [8].

Thus, in view of the proven crimes of Zenawi and his regime against humanity, his continued assault on the environment and his contempt for good governance and rule of law, the presence of the dictator at a conference of considerable significance to mankind is not only a trivialization of the noble cause for which those concerned with climate change stand, but also an affront to human decency.

We, therefore, call upon industrialized nations not to rush to reward dictators with compensatory money knowing that the money would be used to cause even graver hardship on the people who must be helped.

We also call upon the hosts of the Climate Conference to take extra measures so that the venue would not be exploited by unscrupulous dictators as a cover for their crimes and as a platform to gain visibility.

Ethiopians in the Diaspora are asked to heighten their vigilance and expose the tyrant, as they have admirably done so in Gleneagles, Scotland, in 2005; Pittsburgh, PA, in 2009; and in numerous other places over the years. Through effective demonstrations, well-researched publications, and constructive engagement of the Conference organizers, they should expose the depravity of the tyrant and ensure that the dictator does not use the august occasion as a forum to strengthen his repressive machinery and to divert attention from the crimes he is committing against the people.

Albert Camus wrote: “The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.” For almost two decades, Zenawi has used the predicament of the people of Ethiopia to bolster his repressive machinery and to plunder the wealth of the nation. This time, the world must awaken to the vile ruse of the dictator, and stop him before he inflicts more devastating human suffering in the name of development, democracy, and now climate change.

1. http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20ethiopia.htm
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/magazine/22land-t.html?ref=global-home?ref=global-home
3. http://mahder.com/doc/famine.pdf
4. http://www.fao.org/
5. http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/10971
6. http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/688066/-/uopvhx/-/
7. http://ecadforum.com/News/1879
8. http://www.ethiomedia.com/course/4525.html

Cc:

Her Excellency Ms. Connie Hedegaard, Minister of Climate and Energy
H.E. Mr. Lars Lkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister
COP15
The Climate Secretariat
The Prime Minister’s Office
Christiansborg
Prins Jrgens Grd 11
1218 Kbenhavn K
Denmark

በአንድ ፍላጻ ሶስት ጫፎች፡ ምስክርነት ከወንጀለኞች አንደበት?

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