Is the Arrest of Andargachew Tsige the Final Straw for the People of
Ethiopia?
by Graham Peebles
July 11th, 2014
Faced with a brutal repressive regime, the people of Ethiopia inside the
country and within the worldwide diaspora -frustrated, angry and desperate -
are considering alloptions to elicit fundamental change in the country.
The EPRDF, who seized power from the communist Derg in 1991, rule the
country through fear and intimidation. Development aid, including food and
other essentials, is distributed in a partisan manner, so too employment
opportunities. The Government's human rights record is appalling and an
arsenal of ambiguous, universally condemned legislation is used to control
and suppress the populace. According to
<
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/03/ethiopia-terrorism-law-decimates-media>
Human Rights Watch (HRW) the "deeply flawed" Anti Terrorism Act, being the
bluntest judicial weapon, is repeatedly employed to silence critical voices
and imprison those who dare to speak out against the government. Since its
adoption in 2009 "the independent media have been decimated by politically
motivated prosecutions under the law.Blogs and Internet pages critical of
the government are regularly blocked," and an all-pervasive atmosphere of
fear is created by the paranoid dictatorship that spies on opposition
members and journalists using surveillance practices that "violate the
rights to freedom of expression, association, and access to information."
Although enshrined in the Ethiopian constitution (a liberally acceptable,
consistently ignored document written by the EPRDF) as basic rights, as well
as in various African and international conventions, including the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which Ethiopia has ratified, freedom
of the media, of assembly and association, together with all forms of
political dissent are essentially outlawed. The opposition parties have up
until now been marginalized and largely ineffective.
Fictitious charges
The latest innocent voice to be silenced is that of Andargachew Tsige, a
British citizen and secretary general of the
<
http://www.ginbot7.org/mission-statement/> Ginbot 7 (G7), a unity movement
founded in 2008 to bring about "a national political system in which
government power and political authority is assumed through peaceful and
democratic process based on the free will and choice of citizens of the
country." According to <
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28167007> BBC,
he was charged in absentia and "sentenced to death while in exile for
plotting a coup," a trumped up charge that has no basis in fact, which he
has repeatedly vehemently denied.
On 23rd June Yemeni security personnel detained Mr. Tsige while transiting
via Sanaa to Eritrea. He is now imprisoned inside Ethiopia, where torture
and violent mistreatment is commonplace. The British government, a major
donor and misguided supporter of the Ethiopian regime, has a duty to apply
all pressure to secure his immediate release. As Ann Gomez, MEP,
<
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28167007> told BBC: "If the British
government is not complicit with this kidnapping and this rendition of Mr
Andargachew Tsige to the Ethiopian regime - [which] will obviously torture
him, accuse him of all sorts of things and eventually kill him - then the
British government has to get immediately the release of Mr Andargachew."
The Ethiopian government, who in May signed an agreement of cooperation
relating to economic, investment and security issues with the Yemen
authorities (although it is unclear if this includes extradition), welcomed
the arrest, saying "he is a criminal, and he definitely will have his day in
court." The judiciary functions more or less as an arm of the government
enforcing EPRDF policy and denying justice. Getachew Reda, government
spokesman, predictably and spuriously, "accused him of
<
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/07/ethiopia-asks-yemen-extradite-
activist-20147314290982952.html> plotting terror attacks in Ethiopia." In
2011 the government unsurprisingly labeled G7 a terrorist organization,
along with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), who are fighting for
the Ogaden people's right to self-determination and the Oromo Liberation
Front (OLF), who are struggling for independence for the Oromo population -
the single largest group in the country.
To the untrained eye Ethiopia appears stable in a region of almost total
instability; it is a misleading social steadiness, however, and masks
deep-seated widespread bitterness and simmering fury towards the ruling
party. The arrest of Andargachew Tsige is part of a government strategy to
undermine any movement for change, to create an atmosphere of fear amongst
those who are brave enough to speak out against the regime, and cultivate a
false impression, presumably aimed at Ethiopia's principle donors (Britain,
America, the European Union), that there is some kind of terrorist plot at
work, and they are the righteous ones fighting alongside their Western
allies against extremism. Since the 9/11 attacks on America and George W's
reiterated declaration of a "war on terror", the 'T' word has been used by
repressive regimes throughout the world to tarnish opposition groups and
civilian protest movements.
Terrorism is indeed operating within Ethiopia. It can be seen at work in
Gambella where villagers are forced from their homes into camps, their land
taken from them and sold to foreign corporations, in the Omo Valley, Amhara,
Oromia and the Ogaden region where women are raped and mutilated, men
killed, and tortured children scarred for life, villages burnt to the
ground: it is State Terrorism. The terrorist commanders are the EPRDF
politicians, the military and Liyu Police the front-line henchmen carrying
out their masters' terrifying orders. In many cases throughout the country
the human rights violations committed daily by the Ethiopian government
qualify as war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is time long overdue
that the country's allies acted to support the people and challenge what is
a vicious criminal dictatorship.
Catalyst for Action
The illegal detention of Andargachew Tsige in Yemen and his subsequent
transfer to Ethiopia has enraged many in the country as well as those
ardently working for change within the diaspora community. Whilst some
extreme voices may be calling for an armed uprising, the way forward is
through sustained political activism, peaceful protest and community unity.
If we are ever to build a just world at peace, and create a new civilization
based on altogether different values, the destructive, violent patterns of
the past must be laid aside. Revenge and retribution must give way to
forgiveness and justice, tolerance and understanding. In this devoutly
religious country let Love not hate be the guiding force of those working
for change, the source and sustenance of their actions, for as Martin Luther
King rightly said in "
<
http://www.faculty.umb.edu/lawrence_blum/courses/318_11/readings/king_ethic
al_demands.pdf> A Testament of Hope: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
The understandable emotional reaction to the arrest of Tsige needs to give
rise to sustained, coordinated collective action inside Ethiopia, supported
by worldwide demonstrations by the diaspora. For too long the people have
been silent in the face of injustice and violent suppression; fearful of
government retribution they have looked to others to act - the British, the
Americans, the Europeans- and whilst they do indeed have a duty to stand up
for the people of Ethiopia, it is the people themselves that must take their
destiny in their own hands. With a population of 92 million spread across
nine different states and dozens of tribal groups, it is essential that the
people unite against the government and do not turn on one another. Many
groups around the country are subjected to the same government abuse and
mistreatment, in Gambella, Amhara, the Ogaden region, the Lower Omo valley
and in Oromia; they are confronted by a common enemy and need to unite
behind a collective cause.
Social revolution and collective action is often triggered by a catalyst, an
event that demands action - a final straw that breaks the back of apathy and
complacency. The arrest of Andargachew Tsige is such an event. Now is the
time for the Ethiopian people to unite, and, overcoming the fear that has
inhibited them for so long, demand an end to tyranny and their right to
justice, freedom and fundamental democratic change.
Received on Fri Jul 11 2014 - 13:41:20 EDT