USA has refused to collaborate with our quest for Freedom; Is EU next?
By Ligaba K.

The persistent calls up on the international community by Ethiopians to put pressure on the Meles regime have so far produced a very regrettably limited result. It has particularly been noted that the Bush administration completely ignored the quest of Ethiopians for freedom and democracy and did not make any clear principled call to the Meles regime to stop violence against the citizenry and release political prisoners though it has a full knowledge that the regime in Ethiopia has unleashed state-sponsored terror on the population with countless killings, disappearances and detentions.

It is particularly disturbing that the official in charge of the African Affairs in the US administration, Ambassador J. Frazer, has on many occasions spelled out that she is on the side of Meles' regime and has no plan to pressure him to release political prisoners and resume political dialogue. She in stead has accused the opposition in terms that dared put all the blame on the latter. It is really frustrating for Ethiopians who have dared to place hope with the US 'with knowledge of its proclaimed ideals about democracy and freedom' to see it turn its back on our call for collaboration to fight for freedom and democracy. We were not hoping that the US would fight our war or our battle on our behalf, but just to hold the regime accountable to the money it is shoring on the regime. We know that the official motto of the US for its aid to the Regime is 'No Democracy No Aid'. We were just asking the US to come true to its proclaimed state policy. The US if willing could have made a difference for its severance of its aid to the criminal regime of Ethiopia would have created a knee-jerk in Meles because the US aid money to the regime is bigger than those of all other donors, including the EU and the World Bank, combined.

Is not it though disheartening that the US has always stood on the wrong side 'or to put it rather clearly, against the interests of Ethiopians' in all trying of times in the Ethiopian history? I would not take it to be a mere coincidence because it has happened many times and in all cases America's position turned out to be the same silence at best and siding the opponent at worst.

The Meles regime is not showing any remorse for the mess it has brought up on the country and its people. In stead, it is scaling up its repression, killings and detention all over the country and is determined to run a garrison government. It is engaging in both overt and covert acts all of which are tactfully being designed to silence the voice of the people in to submission and yet help it show off to the international community that it is legitimate and is fully in control. The world community must make no mistake that the Meles regime is turned into a garrison government and that it is living every day by a brute force. The fight for freedom is far from broken. The semblance of peace in Addis as well as all over the country is put together with a massive presence of security forces and weaponry bought by the aid money America and other western governments made available to the regime.

We are hearing these days that the Regime is engaging in political dialogue with the Opposition. In anticipation of the EU Commissioner's visit, one quick cosmetic agreement was heralded as struck among UEDF, OFDM and itself. And when the visiting Commissioner, Mr. L. Michel, mentioned about the need of political dialogue to take the country out of the quandary, what do you expect now? The evil Meles said, sure, we know that; we have already started dialogue with "the Opposition". The dialogue Mr. Michel has in mind and wanted to refer to is an all-inclusive one more clearly, a dialogue in which CUDP (and also other important ones like OLF) must participate. Melse of course is engaged in the deliberate evasion of the central issue.

In what he is doing, we can see (and must make the world see) that he leaves no stone unturned to make sure that all popular and viable opposition is destroyed irreparably so that he would remain an uncontested dictator as long as he wants to (which I bet is until the end of his life). Next to the OLF and All Amhara People's Organization, we see now that illegal and brutal treatment has been primarily directed to CUDP. ONC and OFDM are also already unmistakably targeted with of course carrot and stick. In his last report to the House, Meles unashamedly said that some of the political parties that are participating in the parliamentary process are behind the disturbances in Oromia region. This was no doubt directed at ONC and OFDM. So at work here is a combination of purging, imprisoning intimidation and carrot to muzzle any genuine voice of the people. And he seems to have taken it for granted that he can go on like this indefinitely.

Melse has made it abundantly clear that if the present balance of power between him on the one hand and the international community and Ethiopians on the other hand remains constant, he has no intention to release the CUDP leaders and political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. So this must send a clear message to all forces against this criminal regime that we need to do something and do that quickly and meaningfully. We have to continue to support the peaceful struggle both domestically and abroad with new set of strategies to ensure results.

The rigidity in Meles this time is engendered by many factors and considerations. One obviously is his amateurish and never growing up political skill that tends to put all his eggs in the same basket. Another reason for such inflexibility is his evil and destructive mind which bogs him to destroy any meaningful opposition rather than work with them for the benefit of the country. He also has a prophesy to prove correct a prophesy portended by himself in his meetings with CUD and others in the Summer of 2005 when he made callow intimidations to them saying that the choice they have is either accept whatever EPRDF is willing to give them, to go to exile or to go to the jungle to take up arms against it, or otherwise face a legal charge. He proudly mentioned this in his last report to the House (during Q & A), saying he told them in clear terms that if they do not respect "the Rule of Law" and try any thing like demonstrations (he calls it yegodana lay Newt), no one would come to their rescue - not abesha not ferenji. He unashamedly talks about answerability to the rule of law of everyone. The whole world knows that he is using legal front to intimidate and silence any voice of dissent. As the word a famous scholar goes "those who live by law die by law", it is only a matter of time that he will be judged for all he has done.

The greatest of the reasons for never wanting to release the CUDP leaders however is that he scared of them to death. He knows that these are leaders that are close to the heart of the oppressed peoples of Ethiopia in whose name few elites from various cultural groups of Ethiopia, but mainly and decisively from TPLF, are looting the wealth of the Nation and subjecting them literally to a second class citizenry. These leaders have won the confidence of the people and if free on the street, TPLF/EPRDF knows that they would join other national forces in and out of the country to cement the democratic governance and continue to debase its corrupt and illegitimate regime. Meles knows that his regime would perish because it has nothing to offer to make it compete with those who have the wishes of men and women of Ethiopia close to their hearts. Hence, he has to keep the leaders at bay. He has to however be rest assured that with CUDP and other democratic forces denied space by him, there are more than 74 million Ethiopians aching. It is only a matter of time for the good to prevail over the evil. I wish he did learn from the sturdy downfall of Mengistu Hailemariam and other dictators many of whom were even not able to enjoy what they have looted from the people.

To highlight a bit more on what I have captioned as a title, I harbor a fear that EU may also betray its companionship of our struggle for the most basic of human freedoms. We do not have full information of the terms on which EU Commissioner L. Michel left Addis Ababa after meeting Meles Zenawi for the second time during his February 16-17 visit. But, he told journalists that Meles did not accept the suggestion of releasing the political prisoners on bail. Michel also said that Meles agreed to the idea of international observers to the trial of opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activist. It is the apparent agreement of the EU Commissioner to this entrapment of the Regime that is most disturbing. If this is going to be enough for the EU to disbursing the withheld aid and delay other measures suggested by the EU Parliament, I say we are betrayed by EU as well.

An Article by One Ethiopia on Ethiomedia.com (posted 18 February 2006) has succinctly argued the unacceptability of the political trial which the TPLF/EPRDF is preparing to stage against the political prisoners. We must continue to urge the EU and all others that there is no case to answer here. The Regime has made sure that the prosecution and the judges to prosecute and decide the case are both incompetent and politically affiliated to the Regime. Two of the judges, including the presiding judge Adil Ahmed are graduates of the Civil Service College. Recruitment to the College was solely based on membership to the ruling party. The remaining judge is also member of TPLF and has only a diploma level training. So, with a bench that is 100% manned by the party judges, it is a farce to expect justice from this truly kangaroo court.

It therefore is absolutely in the interest of justice and truth that the political prisoners will not have taken place in this stage show which is being directed by Meles only to legitimize a preplanned and determined prison term for the political prisoners. We have to reinvigorate the effort on all fronts that what Ethiopians need is not an international observers for the false criminal proceedings but that the regime comes to terms with the truth and open its jails and engage in genuine political dialogue. A political dialogue in which CUDP and OLF does not participate will never bring lasting peace to the country. This regime has to stop the child play it is engaging in.

I wish to address in the same awakening call the Opposition in Parliament, particularly the ex-leadership of UEDF, ONC and OFDM. They must be aware that TPLF/EPRDF is using them to escape the political disaster it is facing internally and externally by using them in its insincere plot to silence the voice of the people. They must demand that, and not only demand but make it a precondition that for them to participate in the political dialogue, it must include jailed leaders of CUDP and the OLF. It is particularly important that they demand the release of political prisoners to start dialogue with the Regime. If they fail to do so, they will soon realize that they are engaging in a losing game.

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