Following the election on 2 April 2018 (by
the EPRDF) of Dr Abiy Ahmed as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, there was massive,
country-wide popular support for him and euphoria for social change. Substantial
changes are made to cabinet composition. New commissions and agencies are
established to harness smooth transition to genuine democracy. Political
prisoners are released and the infamous Maekelawi jail is turned in to a
museum. The secretive imperial palace (considered by the many as Death Valley,
as many are killed and buried there by the Imperial and Derg regimes) is
renovated and is made open for public visit. All types of media are set free
and free speech is made part of public reality. Successful diplomatic
initiatives are undertaken with neighbouring countries which mainly contributed
to the award of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 to Dr Abiy.
In his efforts to introduce and sustain a qualitatively different
political dynamic in Ethiopia, Dr Abiy, as expected, faced hurdles after
hurdles which cost Ethiopia dearly in terms of irreplaceable human lives. The scoio-cultural
capital built by ethnic groups for years seems to shake up by the tremors. Ethnic-based
skirmishes drive millions out of their ancestral lands and villages. The Nobel
Peace Prize moments of happiness are immediately dashed out by the heartless carnage
of 86 Ethiopians. Surprisingly, much of the chaos is taking place within Dr Abiy’s
political constituency, Oromia. The ruling party, EPRDF, is in disarray. On top
of all these, it is declared that Ethiopia aspires to hold general/national
elections in 2020. All these seem to create a strong sense of bewilderness as
to what trajectory the country is taking and how. Who is responsible for all
these social evils? How can we Ethiopians overcome the hurdles and establish a
lasting democratic culture?
This piece aims to contribute toward a clear conception of the struggle
for genuine democracy in terms of its particular challenges and possible ameliorating
strategies. It has to be made clear that this is not an academic-like
discussion of social and political change; it is more of a reflection of my
desire to see an empowering and lasting change in Ethiopia. I do not claim that
my contribution is not pure original; I try to map out the fundamental
challenges of the struggle based on media coverages, my observations and Paulo
Freire’s famous Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970) conception of humanity,
oppression, empowerment, and change. The late Brazilian philosopher Freire
received numerous awards for his works which influenced popular struggles for
freedom in Latin America and worldwide. I believe that any struggle for freedom
can benefit from Freire’s philosophy. My use of his conception in this piece is
but limited to conceptions of challenges facing a struggle like ours. If we
Ethiopians dare to think higher and clearer, we can ensure that poverty,
tribalism, dictatorship and war kiss the abyss of history for
good.
The target readers of my piece are the silent but highly educated
Ethiopians at home and abroad, activists and commentators, the media (social
and broadcast), opposition party leaders, civil society organizations,
religious institutions, and EPRDF leadership, its members and active
supporters. Considering the size of the Ethiopian population, these are
obviously the minority, but they have been and still defining what trajectory
Ethiopia takes. They do have the means and the capitals needed and can easily
get the trust of the majority. That these sections of society seem to have
differing and competing worldviews also further justify the need to target
these readers for my piece.
Formidable challenges for Abiy and Ethiopia
Creating and sustaining an all-inclusive democratic system is not an
easy feat. Ethiopia now faces colossal challenges of all sorts. I outlined
below some fundamental challenges that are castrating our ambition and confidence
toward complete and sustainable liberation and genuine democratic governance.
The most threatening and incapacitating factor taking the entire country as a
hostage is the emergence of new clones of oppressors who were once among the
oppressed majority. The unity and integrity of Ethiopia seems to be shaken by
this new breed of oppressors.
Due to the dehumanizing nature of oppressors, who are defined here as
those who 1) do not freely think and
act responsibly to actualize their dreams, and 2) do limit or challenge by any
means available the free will and action of others, it is likely that
the formerly oppressed (who were among the oppressed by the TPLF-led
dictatorship) use dehumanizing strategies against their oppressors and the
general populace to arrive at their goals. The TPLF is known for using the
intelligence facilities, the police, the military, public media, and other
institutions to castrate every free move of the citizenry. They were the real
oppressors or at least leaders of the oppressors until April 2018. Now the TPLF
and its entourage are technically gone, cornered and hopelessly kicking their
shells from afar, Mekelle. What is worrisome and shameful is that several of
those who once fought for overcoming TPLF-induced and run oppression turn
themselves into new oppressors. Using the structures and arrangements they created
during and in the fight against the TPLF, the new oppressors keep terrorizing
the general populace. Their discourses freely expressed in social and mass
media reveal zest for sheer dominance, power, exclusion, dehumanization,
torture, intimidation, and persecution. Their discourses and talks embody
actions, hence the senseless killings we happen to witness across Ethiopia.
For reasons ascribed to ethnic interests, the formerly oppressed (who
include many from activists, politicians, the youth, and even the highly
educated) turned themselves violent and are systematically incapacitating state
machinery and the popular struggle for genuine transition to democracy. Enjoying
at times state protection and the other opportunities the struggle bear so far,
the new oppressors position themselves as formidable forces who are fighting
for the causes of Oromia. The new oppressors embrace sectarian and fanatic
rhetorics. This qualifies them as the most formidable forces that can send
their tremors overnight and shake the entire landscape of Ethiopia. These new
oppressors have tentacles that parallel and outsmart government structures and
arrangements all the way from the federal offices down to the Kebeles. The new
oppressors paralyze federal and regional government bureaucracies and threaten
to cause even more damage if provoked. This gives sleepless nights to the
incumbent, Dr Abiye and his government, as well as to all peace-loving
Ethiopians.
Fanaticism and sectarianism
Destructive fanaticism and sectarianism also challenge the integrity of
the struggle and are about to miscarriage liberation. Ethnic-based political
discourses are being constructed and promoted everywhere. The majority of the
140 political parties including the ruling party, EPRDF, are organized along
ethnic lines. Ethnic discourses are by their very nature incompatible to each
other and hence are exclusionary. The validity and fecundity of a particular ethnic
discourse is ensured at the expense of other discourses. This logic partly
leads to fanaticism, sectarianism, ethnic hatred, and then persecution. Much of
the political debates we have in Ethiopia is framed within this hoax. This
makes it difficult to incept, develop, and sustain political discourses based
on quality of ideas and policies. The prime minister tried hard to create and
sustain a political culture and ambition that transcend ethnicity but to no
avail. Ethnicity is the lifeblood of political organization and operation in
Ethiopia. This type of politics is like a Blackbox; once you are sucked in,
there does not seem to have a chance to escape back. Unfortunately, a sizable
portion of the population in one way or another plays around sectarianism.
Identification
A not negligible part of the population is identifying with the new and
the old oppressors. The oppressors boast to have millions of active members and
supporters at their disposal. Many play the role of bandas, covertly serving
the interests of the oppressors. The recent massacres in the various parts of
Ethiopia are testimonies to the existence of a populace base for the new
oppressors. On top of that, a minority group from the former oppressors has
special and often times political and economic interests and ties with the new
oppressors. For they fear for their own safety, prosperity, and influence, these
groups are putting to the liberation struggle hurdles after hurdles.
Dependence
Some radicals in the struggle create, consciously or otherwise, in the
name of popular struggle, emotional, moral, and/or psychological dependence on
the mass. The mass may then think that it is only the leaders who should decide
and act. Plus, the leaders of the oppressed may unconsciously own the struggle.
Self-declared leaders of ethnic groups and social movements work smart and hard
to create psychological dependence on their followers. Followers religiously
submit to the whims of their self-appointed leaders. The former considers the
latter as their messiahs, protectorates, and liberators. This state of
dependency does not discriminate political parties; the prime minister, leaders
of political parties and ethnic groups have many unquestioning followers who
psychologically and morally depended on them. This state of mind is itself limiting,
oppressive, dehumanizing, and castrates genuine struggle for democratic
governance in Ethiopia.
Convert dilemma
As the liberation moves forward, people from the former oppressor side left
their ranks and files and joined the new political climate. The converts shamelessly
feel that they are capable and experienced, and hence they want to lead the new
struggle. Abiy’s philosophy of Synergy seems to come to their rescue. That is
why we see many of them are still assuming key public positions and easily
mingling with Dr Abiy. More depressing is that converts may not trust the mass.
In a way, converts may not be able to bring a profound change in their world
views and actions which may pose a particular challenge to the struggle. That
is partly why they appear indecisive, insecure, and actionless- all these in
the end rests in shaming and blaming the prime minister. The converts are real
menaces to the further progression of the change process in Ethiopia. They are
in constant fear of being persecuted and prosecuted someday should the change
matures and solidifies itself.
Fear of freedom
The oppressed lack self-confidence in openly challenging the new system
and its elements that frustrate genuine change. The oppressed self-depreciate,
as they are treated like powerless, lazy, and envious by the old and new oppressors
alike. The majority feel and fear that pushing this new structure a little
further might trigger the outbreak of a protracted civil war. The majority of
the population is still indifferent; it stands tall and quiet in the midst of
all the killings, persecutions and bogus prosecutions. The oppressors (old and
new) also fear real freedom and democracy, as they always consider that liberation
is possible only at the expense of their safety and comfort. So, both the
oppressed majority and the (old and new) oppressors fear to engage in
meaningful deliberations that could result in the founding of genuine
democratic governance systems in Ethiopia.
Concluding remarks
I would like to make some closing remarks. One, struggle for complete liberation
and democratic governance requires profound love for people, humility, intense
faith in people capacity/potential, mutual trust, hope, self-regulation, and
critical thinking. Two, confront the culture of oppression culturally (deal
with the world views, consciousness, actions, ethics… of the oppressor). Three,
oppression embodies violence; the initiator of violence, terror, despotism,
dissatisfaction, and hatred is the oppressor. If the oppressor is not willing
to come to terms with peaceful struggle, the oppressed have that right of using
any means thought to meet the goal- to
liberate the oppressor and the oppressed alike. The latter can also restrict
the movements of converts and others who appear to castrate the struggle. Four,
if the oppressor is willing to have genuine dialogue possibly leading to
national consensus and reconciliation, the oppressed MUST participate
genuinely. Five, leaders of the struggle MUST understand the fact that they
fight not for the people but with the people. Six, the goal of the struggle, to
liberate the oppressor and the oppressed, MUST be constantly articulated and
communicated to all sections of the society including to those linked to the
oppressors. Seven, we can deliberately forget what the old and new oppressors have
been doing against us and focus more on the now and the future.
I finish this piece by quoting from Mandela’s Long Walk to
Freedom (1994), as it mightily summarizes my arguments: “I told white
audiences that we needed them and did not want them to leave the country. They
were South Africans just like ourselves and this was their land, too. I would
not mince words about the horrors of apartheid, but I said, over and over, that
we should forget the past and concentrate on building a better future for all”
(736 - 737).
We shall be free!!!
This article
is based on my piece entitled Save
Ethiopia by Saving the TPLF! Published
on 20 December 2017.
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