Network+of+Ethiopian+Scholars,+Press+Release+on+killings


 * Press Release**

By the Network of Ethiopian Scholars (NES) - Scandinavian Chapter
=Statement on the Worsening Developments in Ethiopia=

As independent academics working in higher education in Scandinavia, deeply concerned about the fate of our people, democratic transition and nation, we would like to express our deep sorrow, shock and anger by the quick turn of events in Ethiopia from expectations and hope that a new historical chapter would be open in the ancient nation to the setback and step back to the ugly and deeply offensive practice of the politics of cold-blooded murder against innocent and unarmed students. We protested when fellow academics were jailed and students were murdered in 2001. Sadly once more we are forced to repeat and register to the world yet another protest. We saw pictures of soldiers directing and shooting at students within the columns of the closed gates of the University. How can soldiers be unleashed to invade the university at will and even choose to peep gun butts through the holes in the columns of the gates to shoot to kill? Meles & Co. had been students at the same university. Once upon a time they too protested against such barbarity, now they sanction it, and even perhaps as the opposition have reported, instigated it to manufacture an artificial chaos in order to retain the authoritarian alternative to the democratisation of power.

How we wish to see the day when the blood of the innocent young people will stop from being spilt. We are unfortunately far away from the scene where the bad news, and the pictures of horrifically injured youngsters, mothers and fathers so humble and unassuming, hurting with their noble gaze bewildered by the fate that befell them, fiercely continues to pierce our heart, sapping our spirit, depleting our energy and suffocating our conscience. Their agony beckons us to act. The world must know in this 21st century that values of human rights, democracy and governance are shared and they are every ones concern now. These values cannot be interpreted in a self-serving fashion to be left only to those who wish to bend them at will by those who find it so easy to switch from showing a façade of democracy only to resort and rely on violence to prolong their rule. As educators who get sheer pleasure in seeing young people learn and mature through nurturing them with higher learning, the ghastly sight of students being cruelly attacked by soldiers becomes hugely unbearable. We call the world to join us to protest against injustice. Let not Ethiopia be forced once again to suffer the agony of arrogant terror deployed so easily and shamelessly by the ruling elite that seems to have lost backing from the people during the current election ironically controlled by itself.

What is it about Ethiopia that makes it prone to take the wrong historical turn every time it appears to make the correct turn? Given Ethiopia is a country that has suffered for so long from red and white terror, war and famine, unending humiliation and prolonged dictatorship, what would it take to make it change from using violence to make political transition to using democracy? How can the people be so close to make the historic transition through democracy and be denied from it and become cheated from celebration? How cruel can it be of the regime to dangle the democratic carrot and invade their peace with the armed stick? For how long must our old nation endure such crude behaviour from those who prefer to rely on army, police and armed violence to retain and ascend to power rather the free expression of free people? Why attempt to dam the historical opportunity to open a new and peaceful transition from one set of parties to another. Naively perhaps we all thought that members of the ruling party might have recognised that after reaching nearly the same number of years that the previous regime stayed in the palaces of Ethiopia, they too might wish to think of history and not their belly and their fat bank accounts. We thought they want to leave a legacy and not a tragedy. We thought they have seen that having stayed for as long as the time it took the Mengistu regime, they too have recognised at last that they have failed to solve any of the key problems of Ethiopia: Ethiopia’s relation with Eritrea is still unsettled, there is no respect for the sovereign will of the people, hunger and/or starvation stalks the land, poverty is increasing rather than decreasing, corruption is still rife and the elite is cynical, rude and crude to the people. It speculates and tries to auction ethic identity in the invented market place of political commerce rather than building the civic identity, civic expression and civic engagement of the population. And when the citizens express their choice, the rulers resort to fraud and deception. We are back to square one. The current ruling elites are no visionaries. They cannot see how significant it is to seize the historical opportunity of effectuating a political transition based on democratic choice rather than through the usual military methods. Of all the dangers facing our nation, it is this threat of disrupting the historic opportunity for a peaceful transition that is most unwelcome. This danger poses the gravest of all tasks for all of us everywhere to resist any premature abortion to peaceful and democratic transition.

Election frauds and delays over 200 seats simply give a lie over the ruling group’s claims it has won the election. It is fair and just that the opposition has not conceded defeat and is willing and ever ready to defy at any cost to defend the values of democracy whatever the intimidation and the level of terror that Meles and his crony Bereket are hatching behind the backs of people and history. These fellows are prisoners of their ethnic political commercial history.

A leopard never changes its spot, though Meles & Co are past masters at putting wool over the eyes of Western politicians and academics eager to be persuaded of their beguiling goodness and supposed conversion to liberal democracy. Such deceptive stance earned Meles to join the Blair Commission. Their deceptive tricks are infinitely boundless inversely proportional to their moral limitations.


 * Who Is Responsible for Killing Student Demonstrators?**

Let us briefly show the chronicle of events from the pre-election period to the present. This is how the turn of events took. Meles and Bereket did not expect that the opposition would do so well and even threaten their rule with the danger of a potential opposition majority in parliament. They were deluding themselves that the people are behind them.

The chair of NES, spent five weeks in the rural areas of northern Ethiopia and did not meet even one person who had anything good to say about the regime. The vice-chair also spent 18 months in different parts of Ethiopia and was surprised to find that hardly anyone he came across showed any trust, respect or support to the ruling party and its current leaders. People were tired of their lies and their relentless bullying. Farmers were demoralised. Business people were complaining of higher and unfair taxation. People show their protest through various outlets. It was clear that given a free and fair election, the opposition would win with a landslide. The regime did not get this message. Meles & Co. panicked. They seem to have resorted to classic Orwellian deceit. They instigate and accuse the opposition of their own vice. They lie and accuse the opposition for lying. They went for cheap politics and quickly lost the entire plot. When they ordered shoot to kill, they became hopelessly compromised losing any credibility of claims to any higher purpose they like to embellish themselves. The king has finally has no clothes.

Even before the election date, judging the public mood they declared a state of emergency. They banned peaceful protest and thus took anti-democratic measures. The message of danger grew even more to their rule, when city after city began to fall to the opposition. But as soon as they saw the election was going wrong for their side, they accelerated the tense environment by spreading rumours of violence, ethnic cleansing and the like. More ominously, they began to spread rumours of a Rwandan type of genocide.

They kept saying that the election is showing ‘anti-Tigryan’ sentiments. They began to harangue the opposition and blamed for all their ghosts and metaphysical worries.

What was remarkable was that the opposition continued to remain largely unprovoked and strategic in the measures it took. It behaved impeccably and with wisdom, responsibility and utmost disciple and kept the faith that the country’s historic achievement, i.e., - **//the choice of a peaceful and not violent political transition has finally arrived!//** Meanwhile in many rural areas the ballot counting control mechanism has been very weak, the Election Board has been accused of partisanship, so ballot rigging became rife, and inspectors started giving contradictory signals including former US president Jimmy Carter.

When the state of emergency lapsed students took to peaceful protest. Meles declared another restrictive military control of the situation, rather than allowing peaceful dialogue, freedom of association, and democratic expression of peaceful protest.

The state of emergency created tension; the military style of governing created even more problems by blocking the avenues of debate, public participation and democratic celebration. The persistent and further rumour of ethnic tension created unease. This got even worse especially when anonymously circulated leaflets alleging incitation of inter communal disturbances appeared. Finally when the students, tired and frustrated of waiting by the endless delay of announcing the results starting the protest, which is in accordance with their irreducible democratic rights, the regime accused the opposition of instigating it. It has begun arresting leading opposition figures like Ato Lidetu, and Ato. Andargatchew Tsige. It has been reported that Dr. Berhanu, Engineer Shaul, and Dr. Yakob have been under house arrest.

This measure has escalated the tension by gravely heightening the situation. The full responsibility for all the troubles lies entirely with Meles & Co.


 * We demand that:**


 * Meles and Co. immediately release the opposition leaders
 * They immediately release the 500 students
 * No Ethiopian deserves to die at this moment because they exercised the right of peaceful democratic rights
 * The contested seats be recounted expeditiously
 * If the opposition is found winning, the regime hands power peacefully to the opposition and the vice versa
 * Call the army to return to the barracks.
 * Those that ordered and killed the reported 26 students be brought to justice.

Once the expression of democratic will of the people is respected, we call on opposition and Government to think of creating an atmosphere for a national consensus on the major issues confronting our nation at this point in its long history.

The light of democracy has encouraged us, and we like not to be discouraged by dimming it with the current killing. We want Ethiopia to experience what it never had in its long history- //a peaceful and lawful transition from one set of parties to another.

Democratic institutions alone can fix the// //destiny of the Ethiopian nation//. They alone can put behind us our numberless humiliations. How can we not defeat not feeding ourselves? This is tied from not being able to embed a democratic governance system, norms, institutions, traditions and cultures in our country. Let the people be allowed to find their way. Meles & Co. through their selfish fraudulent desires will try to undo the democratic aspiration of the people. We call upon all the people of the world, friends of Ethiopia, friends of democracy, friends of those who suffered long and hard humiliations and Governments, the UN and others to put maximum pressure on Meles & Co. in order for Ethiopians to embark on a new democratic future and destiny.

Berhanu G. Balcha, Vice- Chair of NES-Scandinavian Chapter
 * Professor Mammo Muchie, Chair of NES-Scandinavian Chapter

Contact address: Fibigerstraede 2 9220- Aalborg East Denmark Tel. + 45 96 359 813 Or +45 96 358 331 Fax + 45 98 153 298 Cell:+45 3112 5507 Email: mammo@ihis.aau.dk or berhanu@ihis.aau.dk**