The Call from Semayawi Party and the Celebration of the 50th Jubilee of the AU

by T.Goshu

The African Union (AU) which is said to be the great transformation of the OAU (organization of African Union) that took place in the year 2002 is getting ready to celebrate its 50^th anniversary on the 25^th of this month.  Is it really a joyful Jubilee to both the people and the leaders or …?  I will try to reflect my points of view on this as my concluding remark.

First, let me say a few points about the call by Semayawi party for public event that will express the very deep discontent of the innocent people of Ethiopia with their rulers almost for a quarter of a century.

I read the statement by the party calling up on the people to wear black cloths between 23 and 25 of this month and for public demonstration at the Head Quarters of the AU on the 25th. The theme of the public demonstration are said to be:

1. To draw the attention of the international community to the sufferings of the innocent journalist and all other political prisoners who are languishing in prisons in different parts of the country for the simple reason they tried to exercise their basic human and political rights.

2. To express a very disturbing and dangerously politically motivated measure that forces the people to be refuges in their own homeland based on their nationality and the language they speak. And as this is becoming the issue of ethnic cleansing, the call by the party underlines the need to bring those who are responsible for this very terrible crime to justice.

3. To express the serious concerns of the people to the international community that the dangerous political intervention in religious affairs including arresting, intimidating and torturing those who made their voices peacefully heard should be the grave concern of the international community . The call strongly condemns the very ridiculous actions by the ruling party against innocent citizens under the cover of anti-terrorism law.

4. To express the very worrisome socio-economic impoverishment on the one hand, and the very rampant corruption going on in the country in which the higher officials of the government and the ruling party are playing a leading role.

I want to believe that all those extremely disturbing behaviors and practices are symptoms of an evil-driven political system .In other words, the very root cause of all symptoms of chronic illnesses is nothing but the political system that keeps going against a genuine national interest and the well-being of the people. And I also sincerely believe that this is the very central issue being dealt with Semayawi and all other genuinely concerned opposition political parties whenever they call for the end of a dirty political game that should lead to the realization of genuine political freedom and shared prosperity.

The initiative taken by Semayawi party to call forth the undertaking of a legitimate and most importantly constitutional self-expression is a greatly desired and courageous move.   However, though I do not have further or detailed information about how the preparatory stage is being worked out, and how about the question of persistency during the actual demonstration and how to tackle any unintended happening after the event, I think it is good to express my points of concern as follows:

• There is an at most need to undertake intensive, extensive and aggressive consultation and communication among all the stake holders (parties, movements, activists and etc.).If it is being worked out, that is great, and it has to be consolidated relentlessly.
• There has to be a systematically –led public awareness about the legitimacy/lawfulness of the very peaceful public demonstration, and make positively strong appeal to the general public. This is because there is no doubt that the ruling party deploys its cadres who themselves are victims of the dirty political game in order to scare people about the demonstration. I think this is one of the most challenging fronts of the peaceful struggle especially in a society which has been and continue to be vulnerable to a political culture that has been and continue to be driven by incredible degree of fear ( both perceived and actual).
• I sincerely believe that there has to be a very smart and strong discipline both at individual and grouping level. This emanates from nowhere but from the presence of principle and commitment to the right, just and lawful cause.
• Well, it has to be underlined that things might not be as efficient as we want to aspire. And this is true especially in a society that is being ruled by a ruling party which itself is the typical source of terror. And therefore, it is extremely important not to panic and helplessly get frustrated because of the severe challenges we might face. We have to truly believe in the saying, “failure is the mother of success!” What is very bad in any attempt let alone in the political arena of ours is when we try merely blaming ourselves and others, and try hard in search of all kinds of clumsy excuses instead of learning a bitter lesson and keep going in much more strong manner.
• I strongly believe there is an urgent need to let those high dignitaries and invited guests and the regional and international media know that this demonstration belongs to the innocent people of Ethiopia who desperately want to make their voices for political freedom, civil liberties and socio-economic interests heard. Nothing less, nothing more!
• There is a need to effectively communicate Ethiopians in the diaspora not only about how they have to meaningfully rally behind these kinds of peaceful expression of public discontents in consistent manner, not   emotional and very sporadic fashion.
• There is a very strong need to tell/educate all forces which are being used as instruments of political suppression, human rights violations, and sadly enough for perpetuating the dirty political agenda and practice of the ruling circle in an unequivocal terms that they have to refrain from their deadly attack on the innocent and peaceful people of Ethiopia. I wish I could go on and on with some more important steps and considerations. But, these are the points I want to jot down for now, believing that other genuinely concerned fellowmen and fellowmen will come up with points more powerful than I made.

Let me say the following concerning the “dignified” members of the AU before I say, “goodbye and see you next time. “

Yes, when it comes to the question of whether most of the “great African leaders” would be genuinely attentive to the serious concerns of the Ethiopian people, I do not have any illusion that they will have any real sense of concern about the voices of patriotic demonstrators who are getting ready to make their just cause public. Those dignitaries (African leaders) know very well that they will not advance the very interests the people of Africa, but they just get together and keep listening to each other’s colorful rhetorical speeches and enjoy the grandiose Jubilee party.  I do not think most African leaders who consider themselves as “partners of bad politics” will be sensible enough about the sufferings of the Ethiopian people. I wish I could be deadly wrong. But that is the way it is! Well, we may say that other African leaders are different from ours as far as their national feelings are concerned. I arguably agree. But, although the degree of political oppression and human rights violations varies, almost all African leaders share the same behavior and practice. Let me conclude my comment with author Brian Baughan (Africa: Progress and Problems, 2009.) Describing the importance of various Human Rights instruments including by the UN and OAU, he states, “All these means little in the absence of meaningful enforcement mechanisms. The status of human rights in a particular country often boils down to how committed the government is to securing those rights for its citizens.” Is this not still a very vivid and typical case in most African countries?  And that is why I want to say that although the people of Ethiopia will be focusing on making their voices heard about their own country, there is no doubt that their voices will strongly echo all over the continent and beyond!!

Great Job Semayawi and all genuine stake holders!!

Yes, it is high time to see democracy being victorious over dictatorship!