An Unholy Alliance in East Africa
John Kerry knows Ethiopia is repressive. So why does Washington keep shoring
it up?
By BRONWYN BRUTON
May 05, 2014
John Kerry's hastily announced trip to Africa last week is something of an
occasion: It's the first time he has set foot in sub-Saharan Africa as
secretary of state aside from a brief visit just to Addis Ababa in May 2013.
But the abruptness of the trip-announced barely half a week before Kerry's
departure and conveniently timed to fill a scheduling gap caused by an unmet
end-of-April deadline in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks-is hardly the
most troubling part of Kerry's visit. Far less forgivable is his decision to
honor Ethiopia, a country that widely persecutes dissidents, with another
visit, and the first on this trip. Kerry's remarks in Ethiopia included
long-overdue public comments on the sorry state of democratic and human
rights in the country. But the secretary made clear that the United States
is more concerned about strengthening ties with Ethiopia-a repressive regime
that Washington nonetheless relies on as its primary strategic partner in
the region.
The State Department announced a confusing range of objectives for Kerry's
visit to Africa: to encourage democratic development; promote respect for
human rights; advance peace and security; engage with civil society and
young African leaders; and promote trade, investment and development
partnerships in Africa. In pursuit of these goals, Kerry spent two days in
Ethiopia, convening an African Union summit and meeting several regional
heads of state. Before heading to the conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of
Congo and southern economic powerhouse Angola, he made a previously
unannounced visit on Thursday to South Sudan. His
<
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/05/225470.htm> remarks about
the possibility of genocide in the country will likely eclipse the rest of
his visit to the continent-unsurprisingly, perhaps, as Washington's desire
to resolve the conflicts in South Sudan and Somalia has long overshadowed
other interests in Africa, especially human rights and good governance.
American national security interests are not at stake in South Sudan, but
reputations are: The nation was created with U.S. assistance in 2011, and
until it plunged into violence several months ago, it was one of
Washington's favorite "success" stories. South Sudan's independence struggle
against the genocidal regime in Sudan to the north has been heavily
romanticized by American activists, even George Clooney. Having invested so
heavily in South Sudan's creation, Washington now feels responsible for its
successes and failures. In Somalia, meanwhile, the United States has been
deeply worried by terrorism threats, especially since 2006, and has spent
time and treasure launching a new government and a host of African troops to
protect it.
Both countries deserve Kerry's attention and American engagement. But
Washington's apparent eagerness to resolve these two crises-while at the
same time cutting costs and shrinking America's security footprint on the
continent, especially in Somalia-has forced the United States to develop an
unholy alliance with one of the region's most authoritarian regimes:
Ethiopia.
Ethiopia used to be one of Africa's stronger democracies, but ever since
disputed elections in 2005, the government has cracked down heavily on civil
society, the media, the political opposition and even organized religious
groups. Protests over the 2005 elections ended when the government arrested
<
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/15/AR200506150
2416.html> thousands of peaceful demonstrators,
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/57082/ethiopia-cud-leaders-editors-to-face-t
reason-charges> charging hundreds of opposition leaders and journalists with
treason. Since then, the government has implemented laws that criminalize
social advocacy by "foreigners" (including Ethiopian charities that receive
donations from abroad); imposed draconian restrictions on the press (even
copy shops can be fined ruinous amounts for printing articles that criticize
the government); and enforced such a broad definition of "terrorism," under
a 2009 proclamation, that the mere act of blocking traffic during a peaceful
street protest can be punishable by the death penalty.
Bronwyn Bruton is deputy director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic
Council.
Read more:
<
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/an-unholy-alliance-in-east-a
frica-106323.html#ixzz30srULPxS>
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/an-unholy-alliance-in-east-af
rica-106323.html#ixzz30srULPxS
Received on Mon May 05 2014 - 18:45:26 EDT