Meles Zenawi: Where is democracy in Ethiopia?

Kadiro A. Elemo| March 142009

In my previous article entitled, “Democracy is Different from Melocrisis,” I questioned the credibility of Prime Ministers Meles Zenawi’s intention to relinquish power after this term and the veracity of what he called his “major achievements”, i.e., transition process from military rule to “a democratic system that employs a parliamentary system of leadership” and moving Ethiopia from “economic stagnation to rapid growth”. The reality in Ethiopia is at sharp contrast with what Meles claimed as his major achievements. In my last article, we asked what he meant by democracy:

• Is a democracy meant TPLF political concoction of avoiding alternative voices in Ethiopia and politics of marginalization?


• Is a democracy meant a marginalization of a bulk of Ethiopian mass from the process of decision making of whatever sort?


• Is a democracy meant cloning and proliferation of parasitic organizations?


• Is a democracy meant a blatant and naked tyranny against voiceless Oromo? Or democracy for vassals like Abba Dula Gammada who live a happy life by looting the property of his disgruntled mass or the democracy for stomach oriented mindless OPDOs who are leaving in earthly heaven at the cost of the sufferance and suffocation of their bovine mass? Or, is democracy meant making “Oromo language the universal language of horrible detention cells in Ethiopia.”


• Is a democracy meant crime against humanity committed in Gambella?


• Is a democracy meant the lack of single credible election in Ethiopia? And, so on.

We postulated that the trends we are observing in contemporary Ethiopia are not the reflection of democracy Meles instituted in Ethiopia; rather, what we see [under Meles draconian administration] is Melocrisis, a crisis of one man rule backed by gun; against the merry will of its constituency, since a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” can hardly be an example for every sort of imaginable human wrong against its very peoples that it regards as the legitimate source of its power. How on earth a government that caused and causing unprecedented suffering to its mass because of the lack of human rights and good governance claims to be democratic? A continuation of an elementary equation, “Democracy ? Melocrisis” will be presented now under the heading, “Meles Zenawi: Where is Democracy in Ethiopia?”

Is the Humanitarian Crisis or the Mini Darfur Situation you created in Ogaden an example of the Democracy you introduced?

Ogaden, the Ethiopian Somali Region, is the vast desert region in the South Eastern Ethiopian, suffering from low intensity war going on between the government forces and the ONLF rebels since the former expelled the latter from the transitional government. However, Ogaden caught the international media attention after the surprise attack of the rebel group on the Chinese run oil field massacring 74 Ethiopian and Chinese workers in April 2007 because of the government unleashed a harsh retaliatory offence indiscriminately against the rebel and civilian population that shocked the international community. The New York Times exposed the brutality of the Ethiopian army, “In village after village, people said they had been brutalized by government troops. They described a widespread and longstanding reign of terror, with Ethiopian soldiers gang-raping women, burning down huts and killing civilians at will. It is the same military that the American government helps, train, and equips — and provides with prized intelligence.” Also, Human Rights Watch described what it dubbed as “Ethiopia’s Dirty War” as follows:

Ethiopia's military campaign has triggered a serious humanitarian crisis. Human Rights Watch has learned that dozens of civilians have been killed in what appears to be a deliberate effort to mete out collective punishment against a civilian population suspected of sympathizing with the rebels. Villages have been attacked, sacked, and burnt. Livestock - the lynchpin of the region's pastoralist economy - have been confiscated or destroyed. A partial trade blockade has been imposed on the region leading to serious food shortages. Relatives of suspected rebels have been taken hostage. Thousands of civilians have been displaced, fleeing across the borders of Ethiopia into northern Kenya and Somaliland.

Additionally, Human Rights Watch reported severe prevalence of “abuse by Ethiopian troops in the Ogaden, including gang rapes, burned villages and what it calls “demonstration killings”, such as hangings and beheadings, meant to terrorize the population”. It says, “This is not Darfur. But the situation in Ogaden follows a familiar pattern of a counter insurgency operation in which government forces show little regard for the safety of the civilian population and commit serious abuses, including deliberate attacks on civilians, mass displacement of populations and interference with humanitarian assistance.” This is why the United Nations Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch, Steve Crawshaw called it “a mini-Darfur”. The only difference between the Ethiopian Darfur and Sudanese Darfur is the fact that while Sudan is abhorred by the Western countries for its atrocious actions, Ethiopia is the key ally in security issues with the Western countries that offered human rights a sacrificial lamb. Besides this, Ethiopia receives substantial military and economic aids from Westerns that indirectly finance its egregious activities; and this not only reflects the recklessness of Westerns towards the atrocities but also shows their complicity otherwise they would have altered the political landscape and human rights situations in Ethiopia because of the tremendous leverages they have over considerably foreign aids dependent Ethiopia. The silence of Western countries gives the audacity for arrogant regime of Meles Zenawi to vociferously label human rights reports "baseless," "frivolous," and founded totally on "rumors" and "lies."

The U.N. Inquiry Commission established to probe the humanitarian situation in the Ogaden reported a widespread security fear and violations of human rights besides the civilian caught in the fighting between the government security forces and the rebels. The UN's emergency relief co-coordinator, Sir John Holmes, upon visiting the region has described a havoc caused by the operation of Ethiopian military as a "major humanitarian crisis". However, when he discussed the crisis with Prime Minister Zenawi, our democracy guru euphemized the crisis saying “…counter-insurgency operations are not picnic.” So Meles, where is a democracy you established in Somali region? How a democratic regime punishes the entire mass for the acts of insurgency perpetrated by handful rebel members? How arrogant is your regime when you answer “…counter-insurgency operations are not picnic” to the call of the head of the UN's Emergency Relief Co-Coordinator and international media out cry because of the looming humanitarian crisis you created? In my view, this is a witness as to aloofness of an arrogance, a pervasiveness of a contempt for human dignity, and prevalence of impunity in the country you alleged democratic, when the Prime Minister gives “take it easy, it is part of reality” sort of response to the concern of the U.N. prominent personality about the calamity you unleashed on voiceless mass than at least, diplomatically saying we shall investigate the matter. This is not a democracy Meles, it is a crisis of one man rule backed by gun, what I called Melocrisis.

How the so-called democratic country is characterized with lack of human rights and democratic rights?

Human rights violations and impunity is rampant under your administration. This is an excerpt from the U.S. State Department in its annual Country Reports:

The [Ethiopian] government's human rights record remained poor in many areas. Human rights abuses reported during the year included the followings: unlawful killings; beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of those suspected of sympathizing with or being members of the opposition; detention of thousands without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical of the government; restrictions on freedom of assembly and of association; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female genital mutilation; exploitation of children for economic and sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities and against religious and ethnic minorities; and government interference in union activities.

How Comes a Democratic Government is named an Enemy of Press Freedom Persistently?

Media and free press plays pivotal role in the promotion of human rights and democratization process and this is why media is equated with “fourth estate”. In some cases, high significance is given to the media than “the three estates or social groups whose representatives actually constituted parliament”.

This concept of the fourth estate has come to be associated with the democratic significance of the press, and with the idea of an informed and vigilant “public sphere” within which to debate decisions, influence agendas, and scrutinize the action of public officials.

Does this argument sound in Ethiopia where Meles Zenawi ‘implanted’ a full democratic system? The answer is capital NO. Ethiopia is country where a freedom of press is highly suppressed and free press family is harassed. CPJ named, Ethiopia “among top three nations in the world where press freedoms have deteriorated the most over the last five years” and “the world’s worst backslider on press freedom over the previous five years.” Blocking the websites critical of government actions and policies, expelling foreign journalists, imprisoning and forcing free press journalists to live in exile are the daily routine under your government that you called democratic. Meles democratic Ethiopia is the nation where journalists of free press family are charged with treason, genocide, outrage against constitution and other capital charges. Again I dare to ask, where is democracy; democracy without free press and freedom of expression, an imaginable!

How a democratic nation named among the top Worst Corrupted Nation in the World?

The TPLF Ethiopia is rated as one of the most corrupted nation on the globe. How on earth a democratic nation is characterized with rampant unfairness of resource allocations between states, government favoritism for single ethnic group, overwhelming nepotism and corruptions? In my opinion, a democratic nation could hardly be ranked 138 out of 179 countries on the corruption list?

How a democratic nation named among the top failed states in the world?

Ethiopia under the administration of Meles Zenawi is top listed as worst failed states on the globe along conflict torn and stateless Somalia. How a democratic country ranked 18 among countries considered “Failed States”?

How a leader of democratic nation crowned as the Worst Dictator in the World?

Dear Meles, you mentioned as your achievement an introduction of full democracy in Ethiopia. Under all calibrations, the leader of the nation accredited himself with the introduction of a full democracy would not be top listed as 17th worst dictator in the world. The definition of a dictator used squarely concurs with all your personal and political manifestations, i.e., “Dictators [are rulers] who exercise arbitrary authority over their citizens and who cannot be removed from power through legal means. These tyrants suppress the freedoms of speech and religion, and the right to a fair trial. Some also commit torture, execute opponents and starve their own people.” So, where is democracy in Ethiopia, your Excellency Prime Minister Meles Zenawi? Part three of unmasking Melocrisis will come so soon.

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Kadiro Elemo is a human rights activist who uses his pen and tongue to fight against tyranny. He is a host and a producer of Voice of Oromia (www.voiceoforomia.com) that serves the voiceless, defends the dignity and fights for justice. He can be reached for comment, suggestion, or criticism at kelemo@voiceoforomia.com.