Pledge for a Long Hot Summer for
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
Ethiopians and
Ethiopian-Americans for a Democratic Ethiopia (EEDE)
On March 5,
2007, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is set to hand down his kangaroo court
ruling on one group of his political victims, the leaders of CUD –
Kinijit. It is likely that he will once again ignore the pleas of
the Ethiopian people and the international community to release
these “Prisoners of Conscience” from his prison. If that is what he
is determined to do, then Ethiopians, Ethiopian-Americans and their
friends have to gird themselves for a long hot summer of an all out
and intensive lobbying and political campaign across the world. If
the prime minister once again refuses to release the prisoners and resolve
the political impasse he himself has created in a round table
negotiation, then all bets on our part should be off for a final assault
on one of the worst dictatorships on the African continent.
The campaign will primarily focus on exposing the tyranny, corruption, and
inhumanity of the regime, as well as isolating its key leaders from
the world community. We will, as never before, show the entire world
the lies, cunning and malfeasance of the TPLF leadership who have
become the “lords of poverty” in an impoverished land. The campaign will
target the leaders of the regime along with their families to be made
international pariahs unwelcome anywhere in the world. Their bank accounts
shall be frozen and their travels restricted, and be held
accountable for their crimes against humanity.
The above actions will be taken not out of revenge to punish the corrupt
dictatorship but out of respect for our heroes who are fighting for
democracy, unity and economic well-being on behalf of the millions in our
fellow citizens. Our fight will not be against individuals, but against a
system that has bondaged our people to unspeakable poverty, disease, civil
strife, division and unremitting subjugation. We have to stop the 15-year
old and still continuing killings, tortures, imprisonments, beatings and
muzzling of the people by tyrants whose systematic lies and cunning have
never been seen before in Ethiopian history.
Each one of us should make a solemn pledge to do our part to contribute to
the struggle for democracy, unity and freedom in our homeland. Every one
of us who believe in the sufferings of the oppressed people and prisoners
should pledge that we will support the struggle in any capacity we can. To
wage our struggle for democracy, unity and freedom, we shall utilize tried
and true tactics used by such successful movements as that of South
Africa’s.
Apartheid South Africa and Present-day Ethiopia
The fight against tyranny, division and corruption in Ethiopia should be
modeled after the struggle that abolished apartheid in South Africa,
because both present-day Ethiopia and apartheid South Africa have a lot in
common. Consider the following:
- Ethiopia is divided into tribal homelands as racist South Africa was
during the days of apartheid.
-Both regimes used age-old divide and rule tactics to rule over their
subjects indefinitely by recruiting local stooges like Buthelezi who
cow-tow to their
whims. In return the cohorts enjoyed the regime’s largesse and lived in
comfort and corruption while holding down the masses under them.
- Just like apartheid South Africa, the Ethiopian dictators use the bulk
of their budgets and foreign donations to finance their extensive network
of informants, security and military apparatus.
- Both regimes made adventurous military forays into their neighboring
states presumably to fight against insurgents. In South Africa - Angola,
Lesotho,
Zimbabwe and Zambia, the so-called frontline states, were the targets,
while in Ethiopia, it is Somalia now, and who knows where it would be
next.
-The South African government squandered millions of tax dollars on
lobbying Washington and Europe just as the despotic regime in Ethiopia
does now.
- Both regimes had the United States government behind their backs to give
them diplomatic, military and financial support. You may recall President
Reagan’s shameful support of apartheid South Africa in the 1980’s
ostensibly to counter Soviet expansionism. He even had a name for his
South African
policy called “constructive engagement.” Today, the Bush Administration
uses a similar policy in Ethiopia with a different name called “counter
terrorism.” Once again the administration is on the wrong side of history.
The Reagan administration made a mockery of justice and democracy by
supporting a ruthless and corrupt apartheid system. Consequently the
administration’s misguided policy helped galvanize the collective
conscience of the American people for justice. Universities and churches
played a key role in helping the American people to stand up against the
South African tyranny. Congress, state houses and cities passed laws to
help freedom fighters and human rights advocates incarcerated in South
Africa prisons. We can do the same to raise the consciousness of the
American people and the international
community to take the side of democracy in Ethiopia.
This is just an example of what Ethiopians in the Diaspora can do to help
fellow countrymen and women overcome the dictatorship that is suffocating
our people. All we need are organization, know-how and determination which
we have in abundance. We don’t even need to match the all-out South
African campaign for freedom because the European Union is already on
record condemning the Ethiopian dictatorship and the support of the
American administration for the incompetent and half-baked former Marxists
in Addis Ababa is lukewarm at best. Most of all, the regime is rejected
and despised by every sector of the Ethiopian community including by its
own tribal community of origin.
Today the parasitic regime lives off international handouts and donations.
Early in 2006, it was widely reported that the regime’s military and
security apparatus were in disarray or crumbling because the European
Union and the World Bank had suspended their financial assistance in
protest of the regime’s abuse of the human and civil rights of its
citizens. What is still needed now to bring the regime in Addis Ababa to
its knees is to once again turn off the tap of its international financial
and diplomatic support. In short, our action plans include:
1. Organizing campaign and lobbying groups in cities states, universities
and churches.
2. Work to get the World Bank and the international community to refrain
from propping up the regime with their financial assistance.
3. Identifying the key leaders of the regime and expose their crimes.
4. Persuading the United States and European countries to restrict travel
privileges of the key leaders and their families.
5. Seeking the assistance of the international community to find the bank
accounts of the leaders and persuade them to freeze their assets.
6. Campaigning for the boycott of the businesses of the leaders and their
associates.
It is
important to know that history is on our side. The world is sick and tired
of dictatorships and the poverty, strife, dislocation and human misery
they cause. Today, the international community is well aware of the human
rights abuse, political turmoil and the attendant misery in Ethiopia. We
have lots of conscientious, determined and capable fellow citizens
prepared to lead this campaign to free our people from one of the worst
dictatorial regimes in the world.
It is sad we
have to resort to such extreme measures that may also impact the
reputation of our country in the long run. However, we hope against hope
that the Meles regime will see the potential damage such a wide range and
worldwide protest would engender and come to its senses. If not, then
fellow Ethiopians, we have our work cut out for us. Let us get on with it
and pledge ourselves to do our part and contribute whatever we can to
bring democracy to our long-suffering fellow citizens and gain the release
of the elected representatives of the people.
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Ethiopians and Ethiopian-Americans for a Democratic Ethiopia (EEDE) Dantes351@aol.com
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