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| The lesser of two evils | |||
By Abebe Gelaw Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has beaten his predecessor, ex-President Mengistu Haile-Mariam, in a free and fair cyber poll with 70.5 per cent of the votes cast for the "worst dictator". Mengistu failed to win the contest with just 25.6 per cent votes. Out of the total 1305 votes, Meles secured 920 while Mengistu could dismally command 334 votes. The revealing nazret.com's poll, "Who is the worst dictator?", is indicative of the growing popular aversion to Meles’ iron fist rule. The Prime Minister, dubbed by some as Ethiopia’s Prime Misery, has been engaged in bloody conflicts for the last three decades, from 1974 to date, and masterminded a wave of repression and killings. Both tyrants are blamed for the death and disability of over a million Ethiopians as well as for the destitution and destruction of a poor nation by unleashing endless armed conflicts and repressions. Over 1.5 million people are believed to have perished in famines while the duo were involved in costly power struggle.  Mengistu and Meles followed a similar style of repression, the former in the name of defending the revolution and the latter in the name of defending the constitution that he has already flouted a million times.If Meles and Mengistu run in a national election, it seems that the less unpopular tyrant Mengistu Haile-Mariam will win the polls by a huge margin. The poll is another proof that a tyrant who can win a dictatorship contest is highly unlikely to win a truly free and fair democratic election. Currently the number of political detainees at different concentration camps in Dedessa, Zewai, Bir Sheleko, Kaliti, Denkoro Chaka, Shewa Robit and other harsh detention facilities is estimated to be in the region of 80,000. According to credible diplomatic sources, Meles has repeatedly denied Western diplomats and human rights groups access to the concentration camps after worrying reports of mass graves, atrocities and gross human rights violations. In his latest whitewash report to "parliament", Meles defended his repressive actions as "legitimate." According to him, over 3000 youths will face trial for sedition against what he called the constitutional order. He made it clear that he was not ready for a dialogue with the opposition to end the current political stalemate that has escalated since early June following the mass detention and killings of his dissidents. Meles has ignored international pressure for the unconditional release of all political prisoners including leaders of the CUD, journalists, human rights activists, students, civil servants, lawyers and critics. In the absence of a real constitutional order, he has now resorted to wielding the law as a weapon of repression. He has unveiled a ludicrous plan to hire expensive "foreign experts" to investigate complaints about the contentious parliamentary procedures and codes of conduct that made it impossible for opposition MPs to play a meaningful role. Meles also told the house of poodles the "foreign experts" would also look into the current use, or rather misuse, of the public funded media. However, observers believe that this was another ploy aimed at deceiving the international community. In reality, no foreign expert is needed to investigate the obvious misuse, abuse and absolute corruption of power. If independent foreign investigators are needed, they should be given the onerous tasks of probing into the alleged vote rigging scandal, massacres, mass detentions, atrocities and gross human rights violations that are being committed in contravention of the constitution. Meles put the blame for the popular quest for democracy and widespread opposition against his tyranny on the Coalition for Unity Democracy, the Eritrean government and the Oromo Liberation Front. He lamented that the demonstrations in Oromia, which he referred to as uprisings, were particularly organized by the OLF in collaboration with "Shaebia." In his lengthy rambling at the 9th regular session of the House where some opposition MPs were forced to bear with watching and listening to his comical performance, he said that democracy was flourishing in Ethiopia but suggested that criticizing or opposing his tyrannical rule was a mortal sin that could trigger treason charges. "Various efforts have been exerted over the past two months to realize the cause of peace along side efforts to expedite the democratization process," ENA quoted him as saying. Mengistu Haile-Mariam believed that he was the only person born to lead Ethiopia and capable of ‘defending’ the popular revolution that he hijacked with his cronies. His successor who suffers from similar delusions of grandeur has also convinced no one but himself that whatever he does is right and those who challenge his dictatorial rule are traitors. Meles thinks that the reason that he tramped up treason charges against respected patriots and held the nation hostage at gunpoint is to defend democracy and "constitution."But he must be referring to his unwritten constitution that has guaranteed him absolutism. For Meles, resistance to his tyrannical rule is treason punishable by death. Nevertheless, one of the founding fathers of American democracy, Thomas Jefferson, disagrees with him. According to Jefferson, "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." Ethiopians have been obeying God by putting resistance to succeeding tyrants for far too long. As God created man in His own image, no one has a right to take way the liberty of other fellow creatures. Tyranny is an attempt to violate the inalienable and natural rights God has given to all human beings. God never created prisoners, detainees, hostages, victims, slaves and slave masters. He created us all free and equal with the inherent qualities of other human beings. Despotism is rather treason not only against humanity but also against Almighty God…. In any case, in spite of the fact that Mengistu appeared to be less unpopular than Meles, by losing the worst dictators contest, it doesn’t mean that he is much more respected and loved than the incumbent ruler. Respect and love is the last thing that dictators can earn. It is quite obvious that Mengistu still enjoys an edge over Meles in terms of nationalism. Despite all that, it is just a case of the lesser of the two evils. . |
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| By Yohanes Posted @ 15 Dec 2005 11:08 am |
| Peace for the People of Ethiopia |
