What is new in the empire state of Ethiopia?

November 29, 2008 — Just as Haile Selassie’s regime used modernization as a code word for consolidation of Menelik’s empire, and the Dergue regime tried to use Marxism-Leninism to maintain Abyssinian domination, the TPLF regime found democratization to have a useful currency as a code word for its agenda of domination. The TPLF regime, by signing the July 1991 Charter, recognized the fact that "nations, nationalities, and peoples" in Ethiopia have the right to self-determination including independence (July Charter, Art. 2). The preamble of the charter mentioned "the end of an era of subjugation and oppression". But, time proved that it was actually the beginning of subjugation and oppression under ethnic Tigrean hegemony. The TPLF, operating under the cover of surrogate parties, quickly consolidated its exclusive control over the transitional government at all levels.

International assistance obtained during that period to undertake legal and institutional reform was in fact nothing less than assistance to the TPLF to consolidate its power by dismantling Amhara-centric state apparatus and replacing it by Tigrean controlled institutions. Today, there is no public institution — the military, judiciary, civil service and regulatory agencies — outside the control of the TPLF and its surrogates. Military assistance is among major programs sponsored by the US for the TPLF regime. The program helped to transform TPLF militia into a "professional" army and beyod.

Judicial independence is declared on paper; but it does not have a functional existence. Let us look at the past practices of TPLF: The judiciary is simply an appendage of the ruling party that exercises exclusive control over its budget to manipulate the administration of courts. The appointment, training, promotion, transfer, discipline, and tenure of judges and prosecutors are subject to heavy-handed manipulation by the regime to subvert the legal system to serve the political and economic interests of those in power. There is no safeguard against arbitrary decisions by government officials. In effect, the regime has absolute power to pass any legislation, to enforce or ignore any of its laws with impunity. For instances, according to reports by private newspapers, in 1995 the regime purged several judges who tried to assert judicial independence by resisting political pressure. The most victims as usual include five Oromia Supreme Court judges, including its president as reported in March 2000 ( 07/08/92 Ethiopian calendar) by a private newspaper called " Seyfanabalbal". The usual false government alibi for dismissals is corruption, incompetence or abuse of authority. A former president of the Oromia state , Mr. Hassen Ali Ibrahim, has this to say in his asylum request written on December 7, 1998 to the US Justice Department: "I opposed the human rights abuses committed by the Federal Government soldiers and secret service men in Oromia. Although Oromia is autonomous in name, the government soldiers and secret service agents have total power to do whatever they want to do in Oromia. They imprison, torture, or kill anyone ... without due process of law. For example, my own nephew, Abdalla Adam Ibrahim, was accused of supporting the OLF and has been for the past three years at Ginir secret detention in Bale zone (south-east Oromia).... Despite having been President, and now Vice President of Oromia and a Central Committee member of the ruling party, I have not been able to bring my nephew’s case before court of law. This is because the Federal Government soldiers, more appropriately the TPLF soldiers, are in practice above law in Oromia". It is a public secret to know that such practices of TPLF have worsen as their grip on the power became more tighter and tighter suffocating all constituencies.

In recognition of the role of civic societies to consolidate a democratization process, international funds are made available to the TPLF regime for the purpose of promoting the grass-roots democratic institutions. However, mass organizations set up by the regime and penetrated by its loyal members to manipulate the populace are presented to the international donors as civic societies. It is common knowledge that the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) was used by the international donors to channel resources to the TPLF since the 1980s. It now enjoys increased funding by international NGO and governmental aid-organizations. Another NGO, the Tigray Development Association, was formed to supplement the activities of REST by tapping the economic resources of the Tigray diaspora for development activities within Tigray. While NGOs affiliated with the TPLF regime are encouraged and supported by the regime, indigenous NGOs not loyal to the TPLF regime are harassed, intimidated, and prosecuted under false charges. For instance, the Oromo Relief Association was falsely accused and shutdown. Prominent leaders of the Mecha and Tulama Self-help Association and the Human Rights League are incarcerated and are being prosecuted on false charges.

Funds generated from bilateral and multilateral international sources were used to consolidate the TPLF home base under a plan known as the Emergency Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Tigray. Billions of dollars raised from the international community through loans and aid grants for the whole country have been diverted to develop Tigray in the past years since the appearnces of TPLF on the power screen of the country, while other areas are deliberately neglected. An impressive number of schools, colleges, highways, airports, factories, telecommunication networks and introduction of computers into schools, and electrification of towns and districts are some of the development projects carried out in Tigray. Meanwhile, Oromia and other areas are suffering from famine, AIDS epidemics, abject poverty and social stagnation. The regime tries to cover up this naked reality by touting an achievement of over 5 percent rate of economic growth. The fact is that the majority of the population has not benefited from the claimed growth. Former growing towns of Oromia such as Mendi, and .... endless list of vicinities are deliberately segregated from development. Once flourishing futuristic small towns, at the present time, ended up resembling the dying ghost towns.

Privatization of public enterprises was supposed to stimulate private sector development as one of the primary objectives of the first phase of SAP. Through manipulations of bidding processes, control of bank credit facilities, corruptions, and related methods, non-Tigrean investors were denied the opportunity to benefit from the program. Parallel to privatization and ownership diversification of public enterprises, there emerged a huge conglomerate of enterprises owned by the TPLF through its prominent members and supporters fronting as shareholders. They are now interlinked with the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), which was formed in 1995 with an envisaged total investment of 2.7 billion birr. TPLF companies formed earlier include: MEGA Communication, SUN Construction, and GUNA Trading. According to one study:"... [By] the end of 1996 most of the companies set up by TPLF prior to the formation of EFFORT had been restructured with EFFORT taking over most of the shares previously held by the TPLF-front persons. Some other companies controlled by the TPLF through EFFORT became minor shareholders and a few shares went to high-ranking TPLF members (who are also sitting on the Board of Directors of EFFORT) who became Chairpersons of the Board of Directors of these restructured companies. ..."

The point is that structural adjustment program is effectively used to consolidate Tigray oligarchy which now dominates the entire political life and all economic sectors of the country. This political, economical and judiciary conspiracies are continued with more arrogances by the TPLF with no end in sight. But the regime blindly refuses to see that they are digging their own grave by adversely robbing impoverishing other pat of the state.

The idea of Ethiopia as a Christian outpost has revived under a new doctrine of stopping the spread of Muslim fundamentalism. Ethiopia under the TPLF regime is accepted as pivotal state partner of the US and its allies, despite well documented, systematic egregious violations of human rights by the regime let alone in the pretentiously colonized state of Somalia, but the main land of Ethiopia itself. In a study sponsored by the USAID-Ethiopia in May 1993 to assist preparation of TPLF’s constitution for Ethiopia, Harvard professor Samuel P. Huntington advised the regime that "a dominant party democratic system" "might be possible and would be desirable" to maintain the regime in power. A reminder included in the Machiavellian advice by the professor was that "constitutions and the institutions they create do make difference. They have a decisive influence on the allocation of power and resources, who gets what, when and how." What the advice did not mention is that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is an internationally recognized duty of a government. Evidently, what USAID does in Ethiopia directly serves US foreign policy goal. The Agency’s budget for one of the last/previous FY was about US$50 million, out of which considerable amount is to assist TPLF democratization effort. It should be mentioned that, according to USAID sources, Harvard Institute (sic) of International Development is a contractor for the project implementation.

According to Article 1 of the two UN Covenants on human rights: "All peoples have the right of self-determination". The UN Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria , in 1993 declared: "All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and inter-related. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis."

Enjoyment of individual human rights presupposes the realization of self-determination, which is the synthesis of individual human rights. While the right of their people is violated, individuals cannot be really free to exercise their basic rights and freedoms. Under the circumstance, denial of the right of self-determination becomes the root-cause of violations of rights of individual members of the society. Those who have responsibility under International Bill of Rights to "strive for protection and observance" of human rights violate their international duty when they maintain a client relationship with the repressive Ethiopian regime at the expense of the Oromo and other oppressed peoples. There is currently an international trend to define a precise scope of the legal and moral responsibility arising out of such violations.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

The Nation of Oromoo is subjected to all the above systematic and inhumane exploitations by successive Ethiopian regimes under the pretexts of keeping a united "One Ethiopia". In the Western and other democratic Nations of the world, it is always the duty of all the citizens to execute and protect the will of the people. If their best of interest is not adhered to by the governing body the people do have an absolute right to pursue the appropriate and the lawful action/solutions according to their constitution to resolve their grievances. But in Ethiopia where the rights of the citizens are not respected and often abused, where the majority of the Nation’s language, history, culture and all social aspects of the colonized people are categorically suppressed with the worst brutality, one can only expect prisons, and unlawful search and seizure, torture, and even death when the colonized people try to raise their voices against the perpetrators, the governing dictators.

It is a public secret to know that the TPLF regime of Ethiopia continues to harass, imprison, and torture the Oromo citizens to the point that it makes the life most miserable and intolerable for them. When the degrees of torture, and the inhumane treatment by the governing entity becomes practically unbearable, those who are fortunate enough may chose to flee from these atrocities. Therefore, it is imperative and factual evidence for all ages of the people of Oromo and other colonized people in Ethiopia to escape and seek a refugee status in the neighboring African States. But a refugee from Oromo Nation often faces enormous difficulties including lack of shelter, and basic human needs, protections when they arrive at the refugee camps in the host neighboring State. Besides, these Ormoo refugees usually are the easiest target of the hired Ethiopian murders as evidenced in Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan.

Even if World Nation such as USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, other European, and Scandinavians Nations are accepting these desperate immigrants from Oromiyya, they need immediate humanistic support of survival when they reach the foreign neighboring countries. These Oromoo refugees often and most likely to arrive the land where they happen to seek the refugee status at, with nothing in their possession. Good examples for these facts are the daily witness of Oromo Refugee arriving and living in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea. A Very few of these refugees may have relatives living in other counties, and may receive simple basic assistances which may support them till they are able to process the resettlement programs. Yet others or the majority of these Oromo refugees may end up malnourished, unsheltered, and even starve beyond human imaginations. Therefore, the Oromo people calls upon all Nations of the World to reach out for them in such a hard time when their lives are threatened and on the crossroads of survival and death.

But it remains ironic when certain Oromos who may have been considered highly and respected for their past dedications to the true causes of the Oromoo Nation’s subjugation and colonization, turn back and abandon the struggle they upheld so far. Even if it could be futile presumptions for me to speculate on the reasons behind their surrender, it would be suffice to conclude for me, that those of Ali Birraa, Abbaa Biyyaa, Qamar Yusuf, and the Asmara group entourage finally revealed their true colors. This could be a blessing in disguise as the pretenders are coming out of their shadows and bow down the twisted meanings of Democracy of TPLF. Yes, they have to bow down to TPLF, because there is no "Democracy" if any one questions the supremacy of the TPLF!!!. Yes, they have to bow down to TPLF, because they will be called "Terrorists" if any one of them questions even in the so called "Ethiopian legal means" the supremacy of the TPLF!!!. In fact TPLF has warned them to keep their mouths shut by massive arrest and imprisonment of other innocent Oromoos on the eve of those individual former icons of Oromo going home, which symbolizes classic act of tiresome against the Nation of Oromia.

By Yaadasaa Dafaa