A
Reflection on the Ethiopian Diaspora’s Diplomacy in the
United States -
By Yared Tibebu, 17 December 2005
During
the US Deputy Secretary of State for Africa, Donald Yamamoto’s
visit to Ethiopia, I read two interesting news items on the TPLF
owned Walta web page. The first item was that, that Wednesday
Mr.Yamamoto was expected to meet with Meles and the second one
that his Foreign Minister, Seyoum Mesfin, is meeting with his
counterpart in Beijing China on the same day. I inquired from
my sources back home as to the meaning of this parallel diplomacy.
Reliable sources told me that Meles and Seyoum are not in talking
terms these days, and that Tekeda is more favored by the PM, and
as a result Seyoum asked for permission to take his spouse to
China for needed medical treatment. It is also believed that Meles
did not want Seyoum to meet with the US Deputy Secretary, and
allowed the medical trip. This helped him to kill two birds with
one stone. Another reliable source also confirmed this through
Sebhat Nega’s insulting remarks against Seyoum in the bars.
Sebhat was heard referring to Seyoum as that “TEKAL AGAME”,
and a rendition to Seyoum’s birth place as “NKEBDOM
ZIMOTU ASHAS”. What ever the meaning, it seems to be a term
used to refer to Ethiopian citizens from the Agame district that
made wealth in Asmara, and whom TPLF believes worked as sympathizers
and informants to the Dergue regime to defend their economic interest,
during the long liberation struggle of the Eritreans. It is common
within the TPLF leadership rank to refer to the residents of Agame
with disdain and hate.
To my understanding, by sending Seyoum to China,
Meles had in mind two objectives. The first is not to show any
sign of division within the status quo, so that Yamamoto will
not be able to detect and read the animosities when he meets with
Seyoum in Addis. But even the larger objective is to signal the
Americans that he can go the Al-Beshir way, and Mugabe’s
route and abandon the West altogether in case of any pressure
from the West. Meles knows that the US resents its policy of isolating
the Sudan, and the outcome of it being a state that gets protection
from China. It helps to know that “China imports 28 percent
of its oil from Africa, ... and 7 percent of it from Sudan”.
One foreign policy study found that “in Ethiopia, Chinese
companies bid aggressively on infrastructure projects. The head
of one Chinese company admitted to a South African reporter that
his orders from Beijing were to bid low, regardless of the impact
of profitability.” Even though Meles is not sure that China
could under-write a large check to cover his budgetary needs,
he plays with the idea of China’s interest to prospect oil
in the Gambela region, and its interest to control the Nubian
Triangle. It is common for Meles and his cronies to refer to China
as “its most reliable partner”. This in part explains
why the diplomatic efforts of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the US,
does not seem to have earned any mileage despite continuous and
widespread activities.
I sincerely believe we should concentrate on things
that are within our control rather than pleading and begging the
United States to do the job for us. Let us take control of our
lives and the destiny of our country into our hands. The US has
its own national interest and for some reason our quest for democracy
is deemed as not being congruent with the United State’s
national interest. We have fooled ourselves for a long time, thinking
that the US will come to our rescue, and save our beloved Ethiopia
from destruction and mayhem. For fourteen long years, we have
candle light vigiled, cried and shouted on the “ear of the
elephant”. But from year to year, the support of the US
to Meles’ regime has grown by leaps and bounds.
Meles himself has sharpened his skill at playing
the game. The biggest hurdle for him was that there was no counter
balance to the hegemony of the United States. Thanks for China,
at least in Africa, that gap is being filled. In its bid for raw
materials, specifically for the high quality sulfur-free sweet
oil of Africa, and other raw materials, China has effectively
stood against US hegemony in Africa. As a result, Sudan, despite
reports of large scale killings in Darfur region, is still embargo-free,
due to China’s veto power threat in the UN Security Council.
China effectively defended Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, when
his honey-moon with the West ended after he distributed white
owned colonial land to the African poor. Not only from this, Meles
has learnt his lesson from Mauritania’s anti-terrorist alliance
with the West, where the deposed Prime Minister effectively used
that very alliance to mayhem and kill his opponents, by garnering
support from the alliance and by masking and labeling his victims
as Islamist terrorists.
Meles’ China card to pacify the US demand
for improving its human right record, and the US-East Africa Counter
Terror Initiative fund to nib democracy at its bud has worked
against the interest of Ethiopia’s rise to join the aspirations
of the democratic world. As I write this article, fifty thousand
land lines, sixty thousand cell phones are listened to and transcribed
by advanced electronics equipment supplied by the US for the Anti-terrorist
project. In addition all emails with an attachment are being opened
and read. Close to 100 million dollars is ear-marked for the East
African Anti-Terrorist program, and Meles is effectively using
the fund to muzzle any opposition to his regime. It is not uncommon
for State Department personnel to tell Ethiopian opposition groups,
that US foreign policy for East Africa is not handled by the “Doves”
in the State Department but by the “Hawks” at the
Pentagon. And this despite warnings of “initiatives fail
to consider how to mitigate risk that host governments will be
tempted to use the relationship that develops from an emergency
security alliance with the United States as an excuse for egregious
misrule.”
The United States’ message to Ethiopia and
its people is clear. It is “Read my leaps, no more democracy!”
Ethiopians in the US have repeatedly gone in front of the State
Department, the Congress, and the White House to plead with the
leaders of the “Free World” to abide by their inauguration
day speeches. What they haven’t understood is that, that
inauguration message was not meant for Black Africa. In the eyes
of these leaders we are a sub-human people who deserve a sub-human
democracy. They are telling us that their national interest comes
first. We are told by all pundits who claim to be authorities
on Africa and Ethiopia, from Herman Cohen down to Afe Negus Paul
Henze, that United States’ Anti-terrorist interest outweighs
Ethiopia’s interest for good-governance and human rights.
What is baffling is they expect us to buy this racist attitude
and shy away from our historic duty.
Knowing America for what it is, I am not irritated
when it comes from the likes of Paul Henze. What I found unacceptable
is such a racist policy is spear headed by a state department
which for the first time in US history is led by Condoleezza Rice,
an African- American woman. Not only the Secretary, but also the
Assistant, Jendayi Frazer, who is head for African Affairs is
also an African-American woman. How come they cannot see, what
that angel from European Union, Anna Gomez, has seen? Why did
they fail to see her truth? Why did they subject themselves to
the racist view, which is clearly written in black and white over
the walls of US-Ethiopian policy, a view that reads “SUB-STANDARD
DEMOCRACY FOR SUB-HUMANS”?
How come on the watch of the first African-American
woman Secretary of State, such a shameful act is perpetrated against
a people who lined up with empty stomachs for ten hours to cast
their vote for change? Where in the world such vigor and interest
has been displayed for a peaceful transition of power? Where?
90 % turnout of eligible voters at a time when the ruling party
favors the reverse is unheard of. Only Ethiopians could pull such
tricks on the world. We did it in 1896, against all adversities,
despite gaps in armament technology, and despite international
support to the aggressor, at the battle of Adowa, and we did it
after 109 years at the battle of good governance against a tyrant
from Adowa. On both occasions, in the corridors of world power,
only few were amazed by Ethiopia’s accomplishment. 109 years
ago by an honest European reporter and today by an honest European
Parliamentarian. And we learnt our lesson then, and we have no
choice but to do it again now.
We have to show to the United States and the world
that we are not disposables and sub-humans. We have to tell the
world that we deserve better, not through candle-light vigils
and well crafted letters of educated “house niggers”.
We ought to call a spade a spade, and we have to “bombard
the head quarter” of racism and reaction, not with Molotov
cocktails, but bombard it with the act that springs from deep
within us, from the source of our conscience. If we deserve better,
we have to start to treat ourselves better. If we feel helpless
and act as defenseless beggars, then we ought to know that we
will be treated as such. “Honor thy self” is the Ethiopian
voice that has passed through the ages all the way to our time.
We cannot bequeath this torch when it reaches our hand. Let us
rise to the occasion.
Let us call the foreign policy of the United States
towards Ethiopia for what it is. It is racist. It doesn’t
measure up with the aspirations of the Ethiopian people, and it
has to be rejected. The Ethiopian people have voted for good governance,
human rights, and the rule of law; and what they got in return
after May 15 is mayhem and torture by the assassins in power,
and sub-human response by the Western allies of the government.
Let us tell them clearly that their response doesn’t measure
up with the reality on the ground. Let us wage an offensive diplomacy
on the Western allies of the government, and show our opposition
to the potential ally of the assassin, the government of the Peoples’
Republic of China, not to play with fire. Let us send China a
clear message, that abetting and assisting murderers now will
have far reaching consequences in its future African interests.
Yes, china will listen to us, since it has a stake in Africa’s
future. “Chinese trade with Africa has risen sharply from
$10 billion in 2003 to $20 billion in 2004, and another 50 percent
increase is expected in 2005.” A country with such huge
commercial interest cannot ignore our calls if we make it known
with all our energy and passion. By forcing the Chinese not to
ally with a dying power, we can push our leverage to demand from
the United States, that they cannot compromise on the aspiration
of the Ethiopian people, fearing that China will take their place
if the assassin changes camp. Friends, this is a winning strategy.
But we cannot limit ourselves to the diplomatic
offensive alone. We have to show the world, to what extent we
are willing to go, towards the realization of our peoples’
aspiration for human right, good governance and the rule of law.
Let us embark on building the most amazing network the world has
ever seen. Let us learn from our “cousins” in Israel
on how to transform a helpless Diaspora into a respected world
citizen. Let us dedicate our life to the cause. Let us work day
and night for the realization of our dreams, and the dreams of
our parents, brothers, and sisters, those who have stood for ten
long hours to cast their vote for change. Let us raise the funds
that could raise a new constitutional army from the ground, an
army which has no political program except being a guard for the
constitution, a constitution that emanates from the deep conscience
of the Ethiopian people, and not written to massage the deep pockets
of the West, a constitution crafted to handle the political realities
on the ground. A constitution by the people, of the people, and
for the people, only then can we sing the Negro anthem “We
are free at last, God Almighty we are free at last”!!!!
Yared Tibebu is an Ethiopian based in the USA,
he can be reached at yared.tibebu@gmail.com
