The EPRDF executive committee concluded it’s secrete marathon meeting of 18 days and issued a press statement of 5 pages and roughly 2530 words on 30th December 2017. The statement rather clearly demonstrated the overlap between party and state power which is a real manifestation of an authoritarian state.
The press statement which appears to be intended to send mixed messages recognises the colossal failure of the leadership and apologies for but makes no one accountable, suggests to openthe political space but threatens media outlet who allowed varied opinion outside the party line. The statement in a nutshell appears to address, the internal ills of EPRDF not even properly, rather than the fundamental question of the majority of Ethiopian for political change; which has run out of vision and ideas but recognised it is unable to handle the internal fighting between the moderate reformers and the hardliners who continue to dominate the establishment.
The sociopolitical background to the 2017th EPRDF Executive Committee meeting is on the one hand Ethiopia has been rocked by political instability for nearly 3 years with citizens (mainly in Oromia and Amhara regions making up for nearly ¾ of the total population of 100 million) demanding for their human dignity, human and constitutional rights; and against the TPLF domination in all aspects of political and economic life in Ethiopia. The other political reality is the internal conflict within TPLF which has nearly come to a dead end and its loss of power over the regional sister political organisation such OPDO and ANDM, who are increasingly asserting their regional authority which resonates with their constituencies. The bloody conflict between different ethnic groups, (the Oromos and Ethiopian Somalis on the one hand and the Amharas and Tigreans over territorial expansion of the latter on the other) which has been fomented by the regime itself threatened the peace and security of Ethiopia as a nation.
While the hegemony of the Tigreans and their domination in all aspects of life in Ethiopia during the last 25 years or so, the ExecutiveCommittee appears to deny this glaring realty which is empirically supported to the point that Ethiopia appears to be colonised by the minority small clique when asserting that;
Our country has created a situation whereby no nation and nationality is ruled by anybody other than itself. The federal and democratic system built over 25 years has established equality of all languages, cultures, and histories. Since self-rule has become a practical reality, a situation prevails where neither hegemony nor marginalization are possible. The federal system in place simply does not allow it.
In its Press Statement the EPRDF executive committee acknowledges a serious of failures ranging from providing effective public services to ensuring the security and integrity of the Country, the leadership takes full responsibility; and apologises to the nation.
“The executive committee has failed to maintain and develop the victories achieved by the sacrifices of our people, and. For this and the failure to resolve the problems within our country in a timely and responsible fashion The executive committee asks heart felt apologises to members and supporters of our organisation and the people of our country.”
For such colossal failures which have compromised the safety of its people and security of the nation one would expect heads rolling if not at least someone losing their job. However, in bizarre situation EPRDF, which has run out of luck and idea; expects to turn around the fate of the country without a change of leadership. Instead it is determined to further tighten its authority and silence the people and any reformers within the coalition and hope for change, this is typical EPRDF insanity – “doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.
The Press Statement emphasised “unprincipled” horizontal relationship within a party and across sister parties in the EPRDF, which has been followed by further clarifications and press conferences, but still clear as a mud. Here is a direct translation of relevant paragraph;
“According to the appraisal of the Executive Committee any group relationship not based on principle will endanger its organisation and the people it represents. It further endangers the joint effort in our front and the national process of change. Therefore, the Executive Committeehas decided to examine and rid of such unprincipled relationships happening in any region or party.”
The above statement is commonly understood to target and outlaw the relationship between the two big regions or nationalities (Oromo and Amhara) and common understanding between the respective parties of OPDO and ANDM; which has become a threat to the TPLF. One fails to understand why an executive committee committed to inter party democracy is bothered by the horizontal relationship of sister organisation of people who have common objectives and history. TPLF/EPRDF ought to realise that people are clever enough to know that just talking about democracy and freedom in conceptual terms does not deliver power to them.
On matters of pluralism and opening up the democratic space the press statement states that;
“The executive committee recognises that, although the task of opening up the democratic space is not only based on legislation and our good will, there are significant gaps as it didn’t take necessary steps to that effect”
It is a bit rich for an authoritarian regime that has been busy legislating to wilfully close the political space, worked day and night to decimate legal oppositions and jail their leaders; to accuse others as contributing to the narrow political space. TPLF/EPRDF, the same regime which passed the most draconian laws since 2008 to paralyse the opposition and independent media and obliterated the Civil Society is claiming that free press and robust civic society are crucial for a democratic system. Remember Meles Zenawi saying democratisation is not a choice for Ethiopia? But following the 2005 election he made a U turn and reversed the democratisation process when he realised that it is likely to throw him off the perch.
The Press Statement near its conclusion praises its defence and security forces for protecting the peace and stability under difficult circumstances. However, considering that role of the regime in fomenting the recent bloody regional and ethnic conflicts that led to loss of hundreds of lives not to mention the unimaginable displacements; and the arbitrary killing of innocent civilians by security forces; the above statement is tantamount to giveits forces a tap on the back for all the atrocities they have committed and a green light for future actions.
The press statementmay be a good headline to grab the attention of the nation, but beyond the buzz words it indicates that the regime is most likely to centralise its power and become more authoritarian in the coming weeks and months. Ethiopians need to continue their struggle for freedom but be prepared that things will get worse before they get better. Let us watch the space together.
On the release political prisoners and closure of Meakelawi
The 2017 EPRDF Executive Committee meeting in its press statement announced a number of decisions or recommendations which include; respond to the demand of the population, open the political space, and carry out necessary political reform. In a surprise move the Prime Minster of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegne on 3 January 2018, announcedthe release of political prisoners and the closure of a notorious detention centre Maekelawi, allegedly used as a torture chamber.
The statement revised for the 8th time within 2 days states that:
“Members of political parties and other people who have been convicted for crimes they committed or those suspects who has their cases with the Prosecution service are to have their trial halted, pardoned and released; in accordance with the porous procedures of the constitution after necessary checks are carried out in order to foster national reconciliation and open the democratic space”.Let us test if this is another political stunt by the TPLF or a statement to be taken at face value.
On the face of it the statement reads well intended and appears to be issued by a Government serious about the problem gripping the country and committed to take corrective actions. However, considering that the above announcement has been revised up to 8 times within 2 days and the historical lackof credibility by the TPLF led regime, one is forgiven to think that the regime is trying to pull another trick to deflate the political tension at home and ease the pressure from western nations.
For a regime which has snatched away the victory from the Opposition CUD in 2005, after promising to them that it is prepared to negotiate on anything under the sun if they cancel the planned strike in protest of stolen votes to the Opposition; one gets a sense of déjà vu of the dirty tricks the regime is prepared to play on the genuine questions of the people which has caused for the loss of so many lives and unimaginable misery to millions of Ethiopians.
The most significant point of the above announcement is the TPLF led regime of Ethiopia has dropped its blatant lies and denials of the past and has admitted to the rest of the world that it holds political prisoners. Now the honourable thing to do is release them without any precondition as Mr, Ed RoyceChairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee stated in his latest statement
“Ethiopia has finally acknowledged that it holds political prisoners. Now, the government should quickly follow through on its commitments to release them and close a prison camp notorious for torture. If Ethiopia is to remain a strong U.S. partner and a source of stability in a dangerous region, the government must respect the rights of the Ethiopian people.”
However, judging by the record of the regime social media forums are flooded with messages of scepticism and the announcement may not be carried out.First of all, they intend define who political prisoners are when the rest of world know too well that thousands of innocent citizens has been locked up for expressing dissent and demanded political change using their constitutional right. I will not be surprised if the come up with a “clarification” stating that this announcement does not apply to those charged under Terrorism Act, which accounts for charges levelled against most of the political prisoners in Ethiopia.
For a regime which has shredded the constitution, defines the law as it suits itself, uses the judiciary like its back office; this is no more than a ploy to take control of the political agenda of the day from the protest movements and drag this news for weeks and months to come. No time scale has been given when any of the prisoners will be released and under what circumstances. We may see a release of prisoners who has little impact outside the prison gates but subject to humiliating conditions of begging for mercy from a regime which should have never been allowed to throw them in to jail in the first place.
The Prime Minister, also announced to close closure of Maekelawi – a detention facility in the capital, Addis Ababa, which human rights organisations described as a torture Chamber used by the Ethiopian authorities and convert it to a modern museum. A new detention centre will be opened; Mr Hailemariam also announced that Ethiopia will open a new detention centre which would comply with international standards.
As Amnesty International commented on this announcement, “While plans to close the notorious Maekelawi detention centre are welcome, the closure must not be used to whitewash the horrifying events that have taken place there”….”A new chapter for human rights will only be possible if all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment are effectively investigated and those responsible brought to justice,”
While we welcome the proposal to close Meakelawi – a state-run torture chamber built by the military regime and used by the current repressive regime for the last 26 years, we must not be excited about it as the commitment of the regime to its words is questionable and there are a dozen more Mekelawi dotted around the country currently. Therefore, the key point is put a stop the power of the security forces to jail citizens who expresses dissent using their constitutional right in the first place, respect basic rights of detainees, and respect rule of law and independence of the judiciary.
Conclusion
The Press Statement of the EPRDF Executive Committee and subsequent announcements are primarily resultsof incessantprotests of millions of Ethiopians in different forms across the country during the last nearly 3 years particularly in Oromia and Amhara regions, demanding respect for their human dignity, human rights, social justice, and against hegemony of a minority ethnic group. Another contributory factor for the recent political development is the inter and intra conflicts within and between parties making up the EPRDF coalition, particularly between TPLF on the one hand and OPDO & ANDM, which have been pushing for increased political space and the respect of their people, on the other.
The recent development basically demonstrates that EPRDF and the mainly hegemony of TPLF, which has come to a dead end, is no more tolerated within the political structure and by millions of Ethiopians. The proposal to release political prisoners and closure of torture chambers IF carried out may contribute towards national reconciliation but by no means signify the return of rights and power to the people which has been taken away by a repressive regime.
It has become abundantly clear from our past and recent history that our past and present problems of our country and direct results of the regimes that ruled our country which have never came to power under the mandate of the people. The current regime led by TPLF which tends to blackmail the nation of imminent disintegration if it is not in charge of the country for eternity is the equally the main cause of the socio political and security problems of our country today.
We can’t have a regime which has been busy shredding those social fabrics and threads that binds the people of Ethiopia for the last 26 years now claims to be the messiah for national unity. Our struggle is not just to reclaim back our rights and dignity but to make the current regime the last authoritarian regime to reign over our country and people.
Ethiopians should not fall for another political trick by the repressive regime’s announcements to buy time and extend its rule and grip over Ethiopia for decades to come. Ethiopians must continue their struggle in unison until the regime;
- release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally,
- repeal the anti-terrorism and other repressive legislations used to punish dissent,
- stop using the security and defence forces to safeguard its power
- open the political space and restrictions imposed on the media, and
- Agree to establish a transitional government with all stakeholders represented.
We deserve a Government elected by the people for the people.
The writer can be reached on [email protected]
