Meles needs more crimes to win the Nobel Prize?
Addis Today: July 21, 2005


It is with disbelief and shock Addis was greeted this week [by] the decision of the Norwegian based YARA foundation to bestow its prize on Mr. Zenawi. Normally fellow citizens would be jubilant when their leaders are internationally honoured. They in fact feel they have part in the progress that was acclaimed internationally. This is not, however, unfortunately possible under the present conditions of Ethiopia. Leaving aside the value judgement of the jurors of the foundation and its Board Chairman, Mr. Jeffry Sachs, on almost all of the points, which were considered for the award, Mr. Zenawi's record is a failure.
On the issue of food security, more people are now dependant on food aid than ever. In 2003/4 about 14 million people in the country were stricken by famine and they survived on food aid. The government agricultural development programmes are in disarray. If one visits a subsistent farmer in the northern highlands, one could easily find out the harsh reality. The peasants are fed up of a series of failed agricultural development strategies. Some of these strategies are changed so dramatically and frequently that there is no any trust between agricultural extension workers and the peasants. Agricultural development strategies such as family extension, modern beekeeping, water harvesting, land zoning and others are being changed in a very dramatic fashion that no body knows which one of these are good to certain localities. As a result, Mr. Zenawi's "green revolution" strategy is a failure. In fact, the political situation in the rural areas does not create conducive atmosphere for food security. There is massive abuse of power and violations of human rights by local officials. There is no tenure security for the subsistent farmer. Local officials could evict peasants from their plots at any time. There is forced labour.


The state repressive machinery has been extended to the local level in the name of popular participation and mobilization. The peasants do not have say in the decision-making processes that affect their life. The recent African Watch Report on State Repression Mechanisms in the Oromia region reflects the situation in the other three highland regions of the country, i.e. Tigray, Amhara, and Southern Region.


Ethiopia is still a country where there are massive and systematic state sponsored violations of human rights. I am sure that Mr. Sachs and members of the YARA foundation are aware of the several empirically based reports of African Watch, Amnesty International, Ethiopian Human Rights Council, and the US State Department Reports on state sponsored violations of human rights. Even the African Union's recently launched Governance Report put Ethiopia below the average of dozens of African countries whose governance and democratic performance was evaluated as part of the NEPAD peer review mechanism. It is very hard then to understand why our "ruler" was honoured by the YARA foundation for his "efforts" in ensuring food security and better governance. Is it because of the warm and cordial relationship that Mr. Zenawi maintained with western leaders like T. Blair, J. Mr. Sachs, J. Stigliz and others. If that is the case, the award should have been given for his individual charm and friendship than as a prime minister of a country, which still largely suffers because of lack of accountable and democratic government. In fact the timing of the award totally discredits the intentions of the award givers, if at all they have good intentions. The award decision was made less than two months after the June 8, 2005 killing of more than 36 peaceful protestors in the streets of Addis Ababa. Under an emergency rule declared by the Prime Minister on May 15, 2005, the security forces were under his direct and personal control when they were ordered to shoot and kill protestors on June 8, 2005. School children and the elderly were murdered in the guise of maintaining "law and order". We have not even finished our mourning when the news reached us from Oslo the man whom we feel is responsible for the killings is honoured by the YARA foundation. I am sure that Mr. Sachs and the members of the foundation are well aware of the fact that Mr. Zenawi has so far neither apologized for the killings nor allowed independent investigation into the circumstances that led to the blood bath. The results of the elections, which led to the the July 8 protests are not yet known. That is more than two months after the election was conducted on May 15, 2005. Considering all these problems, Addis Ababans did not greet the news of the decision of the YARA foundation to provide its award to "our beloved little emperor" with happiness and elation, we rather received the news with shock and disbelief. That is because people like Mr. Sachs who seemed to be concerned about poverty reduction refused to listen our agony and pain.


I think it would be important here to underline the fact that the West in general approaches African problems in a very arrogant and patronizing manner. They come and tell us this leader is good and that leader is bad. In fact, the very pretension of the Europeans and Americans to come and tell us our leader is good shows their contempt to our societies' intellect of what is good and bad. Some times their patronizing approach towards Africa reaches the level of racism, i.e. we know what is good for you and you poor black Africans do not know what is good for you. That is indeed racism! In the Ethiopian case too, western leaders and their opinion makers are telling us that you are generally bad and stupid but fortunately you have this "bright and intelligent" leader who is a beacon of hope not only for you "arrogant" Ethiopians but also for the whole of Africa. Don't you think that is arrogant and self-serving? Even when we are saying by our votes our leaders are not good, Europe and America would say no you are wrong; your leader is extremely intelligent and without him you do not have hope. The YARN foundation's decision to give the award to Mr. Zenawi is a good example of this Western attitude towards Ethiopia and Africa. What is strange in the relationships of Europe and Africa in the last four decades, all leaders that the westerners acclaimed as the good guys such as Mobutu, Savimbi, Mubarak, Musevini, Afeworki, Zenawi, and others are a wrong pick. They are all bloody dictators and are involved in violent repression of their citizens.


More cynically Addis Ababans are now saying if Mr. Zenawi could get an award from the YARA foundation by killing only 36, he would get the Nobel Prize from Oslo by killing more Ethiopians. We are such expendable creatures. Aren't we, Mr. Sachs?


(Source: Addis Today)