UNDEMOCRATISING ETHIOPIA

Discussion Paper



Background

This paper focuses on the nature of democracy in Ethiopia and wants to give a bird’s eye view for people to raise some issues to enhance democracy in Ethiopia.

The title undemocratising Ethiopia tends to show that there is democracy in the country but it is the contrary that is why I used the term.

Democracy which is the basic rights of people in life is denied in Ethiopia because of the successive governments who came to power in the name of democracy were and are not ready to practice it but the term to them is governance of the people by the barrel of the gun or deprivation peoples basic rights with practice laying camouflages and unpractising laws in the constitutions they draft and proclaim.

Ethiopia for the last century is governed by Feudal Imperial regime till 1974, military Junta till 1991 and till now with guerrillas who came to power in the name of democracy. What is the difference and the unity with these governments needs detail historical analysis but the focus of the paper is to focus on current conditions so does not discuss this issue in detail but will underline some of the practice to substantiate the arguments to raise some issues.
Since the focus of the paper is on the current undemocratic practices in the country mostly those issues raised are for the last a decade and half.


Undemocratising Ethiopia

The ruling party in the country EPRDF came to power in May 1991 by overthrowing the military Junta who hard handed ruled the country since 1974, the Junta also came to power in the same way overthrowing the Imperial regime of Haile Selassie.

As Ethiopian the nature of the overthrown Junta was a dictator where the power of the people from time to time was transferred to one man the chairman of the Working Party of Ethiopia namely Mengistu Haile Mariam. Anything what he said was quoted as a guideline to all the sectors of the country. Even though the development of the country was deteriorating the government told the Ethiopian people that there is progress in all sectors of the economy which was a farce.

When the hearts and minds of the people was blocked to the military Junta, it was not possible to extend the war wedged in the country and the Junta fell down and was replaced with Albanian communist organization named EPRDF.

EPRDF some months before coming to power was propagating the best views of socialism and communism to bring democracy in Tigrai (northern part of the country) to enhance development but changed their local oriented struggle to cover the whole country and were automatically baptised to follow liberalism and formed an alliance from the major ethnic group organisations mainly (Amhara, Oromo and other ethnic groups) who were against the junta but excluding those who did not accept ethnic politics.

The struggle was over and the junta overthrown in May 1991, which means in normal, terms a change in government but the first step taken by the TPLF led EPRDF transitional government was to abolish all socialist based institutions starting from civil societies to institutions prevailing in the country and trying to administer according to the laws of the jungle which was practiced during the time of struggle.

Since the country was organised according to the socialistic principle all localities have at least have associations (farmers, youths, women, urban dwellers, workers, teachers, medical personnel’s and other professionals). The core step take was to abolish them so that they will not request their rights because the EPRDF was against the dictatorial junta regime so is for human rights and the peolpe will try to ask what was deprived by the Junta. Here starts the undemocratising process in the country. Here starts the problem rather than refining the existing institutions to better condition by correcting the malpractice EPRDF also was not sure of their own nature of democracy so they abolished them to replicate a new born ones in their own way of baptism.

In the end of the century the paramount focus to establish community based organisation (CBO), NGOs ,and civil societies was immense but what undemocratically elected governments are doing is dissolving them and forming their own puppet organisations, so it is the first step for EPRDF led government to unseat such forums. Besides what was the next step done by the EPRDF was hatching small ethnically based parties and association which exclude the former members of the association and labelling them as Dergist (Junta followers) or members of the Workers party Ethiopia as well putting them without any refinement in different camps for being members. This also holds true to members of the military serving the junta regime.

Here since it is fearful to leave the military members out in public could be said dangerous to security but one has to see the suffering working for other government which is not a sin and military is a job by itself is seen as a revenge by all members of the EPRDF and it was a revenge done for fighting with them.

There comes the next step in undemocratising which was the setting up of ethnically bounded regions which practically were fourteen including the capital city Addis Ababa. But the rush to set this fourteen regions was curved by joining the region 7(Gurage), 8 (Sidama), 9 (Wolayita and Gamo) and the 10 (Kembata) and the Keffa region now named as Southern Peoples, Nations and Nationalities (45 ethnic groups) since at the beginning was not well founded also currently is not well founded merely due to administrative hardships (the capital of the region being in Awasa 275 km from Addis Ababa, while the people from Keffa have to travel minimum 2 days to reach the highest decision makers of the regional state).

As the hard hand ruling continues the country has duplicated association for teachers, youths as well parties for every party formed by the oppositions with a suffix democratic party taken from the mother party EPRDF.

Building of democracy needs basic democratic rights such as freedom of press, association as well electing own representative even at a lower level in community based organisation as well those who run government offices which are rights stipulated in the international convention and the 1995 approved Ethiopian constitution but the reality in the country is the other side of the coin. That is when we say democracy in Ethiopia EPRDFs definition is that a one horse race to reach the goal or only and only member of EPRDF is elected in all posts in the government that is democracy but if someone defeats EPRDF member it is genocide, treason and crime against humanity (see reports after the 2005 election).


Why we raise the issue to undemocratise Ethiopia could be a true solution to democratise the country because the definition by the ruling EPRDF party for democratisation is distorted und unfounded so if we try to undemocratise the country may be this people well come against the will of the people and would start to think of it.

What are the realities and what we are told in the media about democracy in the country? This issue will give us some ideas how to fight for democracy in Ethiopia.
In any country including Ethiopia the constitution declares the executive, the judiciary as well the legislative are the core of the government while the reality is that all these three are in the hands and good will of the prime minister as was in Haile Selassie as well Mengistu in the last regimes. Besides the civil servants who serve in the government prerequisite is not profession or capability but the loyalty to the ruling party. These are founded realities and always spoke out even by the prime minister himself saying we do not care you have PhD or you are a NASA scientist unless you are loyal to EPRDF but if someone is loyal to EPRDF and even he is illiterate he is welcomed by me to serve my government at any post (taken from speech in the parliament).

To undemocratise Ethiopian conditions starting from the peoples representatives down to local government is just simple thing that is to hand pick personnel by the prime minister and assign them at all levels but how to replace this situation needs a better approach whether we like it or not this situation is stinking from top to down and the Ethiopian people have the right to deserve more than this reality.

There could be more ways to reach a goal but the best way is to reach as early as possible since the disease could not propagate and infect others who are our neighbours and the transmission later to us also will have along term effect.

The most and important issue is to stand together and tell the pot that it’s a pot and we have to say enough is enough to tyranny. Tyrants always think that they are smart and would like to fight at any cost to stay in power.

Here what I remind is to all oppositions in and out of the country to come and think once and for all why we are weak to enforce EPRDF to respect the human rights in the country, are we always chasing the assignment given by EPRDF or are we myopic to our own vision? Have we done our assignments properly? Are we ready to see a democratic Ethiopia in the near future? Or are we expecting EPRDF vanished as was the later governments? or are we expecting the westerners to free us from the tyrant?

Here is the million dollar question because there are more parties which are organised in and outside of Ethiopia than the number of parties in the Horn of Africa. The parties are sometimes two steps forward and three steps backward due to the nature of their organisation and some coherent problems during formation but all have the same goal which reads as Democracy for Ethiopian People and what are the reasons for not coming together. Parties who fight against ethnic federalism and the lawlessness’ of EPRDF are sometimes dragged by the yoke of EPRDF and start to think about their roots (ethnic) which is assignment given to them. Moreover some of the parties organised give more emphasis about the merit they expect before the victory which is a miscalculation in reality. The bottom line should have to focus let we fight the giant first and it will be the decision of the people to give power to whom he ever voted.

Less God bless Ethiopia
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