If the court ruling againstEskinger Nega and Andualem Aragie shocked anyone
from the opposition quarter or not even from the opposition quarter, it
only suggests ignorance about the real nature of TPLF and how
government institutions function under TPLF.
If we have not yet reached to the point to believe and profess, in
meaningful way, the fact that TPLF is into ravaging Ethiopia (subtly and
unsubtly) while building its ethnic base rather than standing for
justice, then that represents not only a case of bias and indifference
but also it gives a significant clue as to where we really stand in
relation to truth, justice and the cause of Ethiopia. In fact, in light
of numerous repressive measures ranging from an outright massacres in
towns to genocidal moves in the south west and south eastern parts of
Ethiopia which are all recorded by reputable human rights organizations
for well over a decade now, even those who tend to distance themselves
from politics should have declared TPLF enemy of justice long time ago.
For some “neutrality” is a cover for a subtle support.
Logically, if the government is dictatorial, then there is little or
no chance for government institutions to be democratic. Independence and
impartiality of courts is unthinkable. In the case of Ethiopia, TPLF
dictation transcends governance structures and encompasses the realm of
religion as religious institutions are made subservient to TPLF agenda.
It’s a different totalitarian model for a number of reasons. The
intervention in religious affairs met a moderate resistance only from
Ethiopian Muslims. For the record, Ethiopian Muslims are consistently
and seriously, in relative terms compared to the rest of the population,
resisting TPLF’s agenda of domesticating Islam in Ethiopia in a way to
serve TPLF agenda.
Speaking of dictatorship, the Chinese leadership, which TPLF
leadership pretends to emulate, has never been implicated or criticized
for parochial ethnic supremacy or ethnic chauvinism agenda. Other
former Asian dictatorial governments were not aspiring ethnic
chauvinists too. The rhetoric of “developmental state” was not staged
against the backdrop of ethnic supremacy agenda. Nor ethnic supremacy
agenda was embedded in policies and policy implementation strategies in a
way to serve ethnic supremacy agenda. TPLF is fundamentally different.
When we talk about TPLF, we are talking about a political group and
government at the same time which is aggressively pursuing
ethnic-supremacy agenda- at times taking unimaginably brutal measures .
One can cite numerous points that speak volumes about their aspiration
of ethnic-supremacy. Programs aired in the state run television in their
first ten years as government contain valuable information for anyone
with interest to study their ethnic supremacy agenda. As guerrilla
forces, they have clearly demonstrated in their manifesto as to what
they are fighting against. Assumption of government power following the
fall of the military government provided TPLF with the opportunity to
pursue ethnic chauvinism agenda thorough policy measures that foster
TPLF as a single dominant military,economic and political power in
Ethiopia.
The most cunning point about pursuit of this agenda is that much of
it was achieved through the use of other ethnic based political
organizations which they formed, in fact, directly or indirectly
immediately before or after assuming state power.For a political novice,
for a naïve, for an ostentatious commentator, for an opportunist and
for state actors who are doing this or that business with TPLF
government, the country is “governed” by coalition party -‘EPRDF” and
that the ruling party has just “imperfections.” This brutal government
machinery knows no economic sanctions from donor countries- sanctions
like what Myanmar or Zimbabwe experienced while it is far more worse in
its dictatorial nature. It was not even meaningfully challenged with
“tied-aid.”
While TPLF exploits ethnic based political parties to repress in the
ethnically instituted federal regions in different forms, the strategy
employed in the jurisdictions outside of ethnic based federal regions is
a combination of “legal” and outright repression. Federal governance
institutions including courts serve the purpose. In consequence, TPLF
successfully managed to make peaceful struggle virtually impossible in
the country. On top of that, there is a huge investments in social
practices that could effectively enervate the nationalistic and
political spirit of the youth which is far worse than De-politicization.
Tendency of longing for change which is or which should rather be a
common attribute of young minds does not seem to be the case for a
considerably big portion of Ethiopian youth. No question that
depoliticized youth in a country where there is no rule of law and
accountability and in country with huge political mess amounts to big
trouble. It represents not just unfriendly future but also impending
slavery like unfreedoms. In such a situation the onus of awakening rests
on the shoulder of visionary opposition party leaders and the press.
The whole world including TPLF know that the practices that
journalists and opposition party officials, against whom the court ruled
today and who are now behind bars to serves insane prison terms, were
engaged in had nothing, what so ever, to do with “terrorist” acts. So
far there is no official policy elsewhere in the world that equates
political dissension or activism with “terrorism.” Needless to say, the
purpose was not just to challenge people like Andualem or Eskinder. It
rather sounds like a psychological game against citizens with a tendency
to engage in political activism and citizens with the intent to assert
rights and freedoms. TPLF dared to legitimize repressions of this
nature with the rhetoric of “development.” If there was a rejection of
“development model” that does not give a room for democratization
process and assertion of rights and freedoms on the part of the
principal donors to TPLF regime, it would have been reflected, among
other things, in the form of imposing sanction in development aid. There
was not. TPLF is getting more aggressive. The court ruling is a
manifestation of that. TPLF is telling Ethiopians : “Yes, this
government is dictator. what are you going to do about it.?”
If TPLF, through the courts, could do what it has done to Eskinder
and Andualen whose incarceration is pretty much known to activists at
the international stage, can anyone imagine as to what had happened and
as to what is happening to other dissenting voices in the country? How
many more are in the torture chambers without even the chance to appear
in the sham courts, if that means anything at all?
_________________
This commentary was initially posted on www.borkena.com You could get updates, commentaries on current issues from
Borken's Facebook page
