Watching American diplomacy in Ethiopia
Monday, April 29, 2013 _at_ 10:04 AM ed
By Prof. Al Mariam
America is Watching!?
Diplomacy by hypocrisy is “diplocrisy”.
Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher, said “Hypocrisy can
afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond
promise, it costs nothing.” We’ve heard many promises on human rights in
Africa from President Obama and his Administration over the past four years.
“We will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened
democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the
Ethiopian people… We will work for the release of jailed scholars,
activists, and opposition party leaders… We align ourselves with men and
women around the world who struggle for the right to speak their minds, to
choose their leaders, and to be treated with dignity and respect…. Africa’s
future belongs to its young people… We’re going to keep helping empower
African youth… Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
We support strong and sustainable democratic governments…. America will be
more responsible in extending our hand. Aid is not an end in itself…
[Dictatorship] is not democracy, [it] is tyranny, and now is the time for it
to end… America is watching…” All empty promises and cheap talk.
Last week, the U.S.
<
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&
dlid=204120#wrapper> State Department released its annual Human Rights
Report for 2013. In his remarks launching that report,
<
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/04/207791.htm> Secretary of
State John Kerry announced
…[These] reports show brave citizens around the world and those who would
abuse them that America is watching…
So anywhere that human rights are under threat, the United States will
proudly stand up, unabashedly, and continue to promote greater freedom,
greater openness, and greater opportunity for all people. And that means
speaking up when those rights are imperiled. It means providing support and
training to those who are risking their lives every day so that their
children can enjoy more freedom. It means engaging governments at the
highest levels and pushing them to live up to their obligations to do right
by their people…
Is America really “watching” and “standing up”?
I am always curious when someone is watching. Big Brother is watching!
Aargh!!
When Kerry tells “brave citizens” in Ethiopia like Eskinder Nega, Reeyot
Alemu, Wobshet Taye, Sertkalem Fasil, Bekele Gerba, Olbana Lelisa, Abubekar
Ahmed, Ahmedin Jebel, Ahmed Mustafa and so many others “America is
watching”, what does he mean? Does he mean America is watching them rot in
Meles Zenawi Prison #1 in Kality and/or #2 in Zewai? Does he mean America is
watching Ethiopia like birdwatchers watch birds? Or like amateur astronomers
watching the starry night sky? Perhaps like daydreaming tourists at the
beach watching the waves crash and the summer clouds slowly drifting inland?
Is “watching” a good or a bad thing? If we believe Albert Einstein, watching
is no good. “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by
those who watch them without doing anything.” (Silent watchers, watch out!)
Like Nero Claudius Caesar who watched Rome burn from the hilltops singing
and playing his lyre. Or, (I hate to say it but it would be hypocritical of
me not to) like
<
http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/2012/12/10/susan_rice_and_africas_unhol
y_trinity> Susan Rice who watched Rwanda burn. Her only question was, “If we
use the word ‘genocide’ and are seen as doing nothing, what will be the
effect on the November [Congressional] election?”
I like it when Human Rights Watch (HRW) watches because when they watch they
witness. They saw the genocide and crimes against humanity in the Ogaden and
Gambella and they have witnesses. They watched independent journalists
jacked up in kangaroo court and railroaded to Meles Prison #1 or #2. (Sounds
like the equivalent of a hotel chain? Well, they do put chain and ball on
innocent people at the Meles Zenawi Hilton.)
I like watching watchdogs watch crooks, criminals and outlaws. I mean
“watchdog journalists” like Eskinder, Reeyot, Serkalem, Woubshet and many
others. These journalists used to watch power abusers and alert citizens of
the crimes they were watching. Now the criminals are watching them in
solitary at the Meles Zenawi Hilton.
I also like the way the watchdogs’ watchdog watch those who dog the
watchdogs. I am referring to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The
CPJ guys are like McGruff, the crime watchdog, always tracking to “take
bites out of crimes” committed against journalists. Not long ago,
<
http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/2013/04/21/the_audacity_of_evil_in_ethi
opia> they watched and sounded the alarm that Reeyot Alemu was heading to
solitary confinement just because she complained about inhumane and inhuman
treatment in Meles Zenawi Prison. Last week,
<
http://www.cpj.org/2013/04/ethiopia-transfers-journalist-woubshet-to-remote
-p.php> the CPJ watched Woubshet Taye being hauled from the Meles Zenawi
Prison #1 to Meles Zenawi Prison #2. (They think he will be forgotten by the
world lost in the armpits of Meles Zenawi Prison #2.)
I pity those who just watch. Like the “foolish and senseless people, who
have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear” or those who may
“indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand.” I
have no idea what the Obama Administration is watching, perceiving or seeing
in Ethiopia? I would like to believe they are watching human rights abuses
and abusers and the criminals against humanity. But how is it possible to
watch with arms folded, ears plugged and wearing welding goggles? I wonder:
Could they be watching the tragicomedy, “The Trials and Tribulations of the
Apostles of Meles”? Perhaps they are watching kangaroo courts stomping all
over justice and decency? I am certain they are not watching the political
prisoners. Perhaps they are watching the horror movie, “Dystopia in
Ethiopia”? Sure, it’s a scary movie but it really isn’t real. But if it is
real, what’s the big deal? The same horror film has been playing all over
Africa since before independence. Get over it!
>From where I am watching, the Obama Administration seems to be watching
Ethiopia peekaboo style; you know, cover your face with the palms of your
hand and “watch” between the fingers. “I seee yooou!” That is, stealing
elections, sucking the national treasury dry, handing over the best land in
the country to bloodsucking multinationals, jailing journalists and ripping
off the people.
Doesn’t “America is watching,” sound like Orwellian doublespeak. You know,
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Dictatorship is
democracy. Watching is turning a blind eye.
When America is watching, those being watched in Ethiopia are watching
America watching them. They watch America waffling and shuffling,
double-talking, flip-flopping and dithering, equivocating, pretending,
hemming and hawing and hedging and dodging. But those chaps in Ethiopia
watch like George Orwell’s Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four) who watched
everybody and everything in Oceania. Well, Big Brother Meles is gone from
Ethiopiana but the “Little Brothers of the Party of Meles” keep on watching
and yodeling:
…The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in
the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure
power means you will understand presently. We are different from the
oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others,
even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German
Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but
they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended,
perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a
limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where
human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know what no
one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a
means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to
safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the
dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of
torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to
understand me.
Oceania Ethiopiana!
I have been watching America watching Ethiopia for a very long time. I have
been watching the Obama Administration watching and coddling the criminals
against humanity in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda. I must confess that I
enjoy watching and re-watching President Obama’s speeches in Accra, Cairo,
Istanbul and elsewhere. “History is on the side of brave Africans…”
(whatever that means).
I liked watching former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton declare moral
victory on the Chinese and capture the commanding moral heights. “We don’t
want to see a new colonialism in Africa… It is easy to come in, take out
natural resources, pay off leaders and leave… and not leave much behind for
the people who are there.” Right on! Power to the people of Africa! Down
with colonialism! (I think that may be a bit passé.)
Sometimes I feel bad watching. When I watch hard earned American tax dollars
bankrolling ruthless African dictators who laugh straight to the bank to
deposit their American tax dollars, I really get bummed out. I am peeved
when I watch the American people being flimflammed into believing their tax
dollars are supporting democracy, human rights and American values in
Africa. But when I watch those miserable panhandlers “enfolded in the purple
of Emperors” bashing and trashing America on their way back from depositing
their foreign aid welfare checks, I just plain get pissed off!!
“America is watching,” but is America watching where its tax dollars are
going? It is NOT.
<
http://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/audit-reports/4-663-10-003-p.pdf>
According to an audit report by the Office of the Inspector General of US
AID in March 2010 (p. 1), there is no way to determine the fraud, waste and
abuse of American tax dollars in Ethiopia:
The audit was unable to determine whether the results reported in
USAID/Ethiopia’s Performance Plan and Report were valid because agricultural
program staff could neither explain how the results were derived nor provide
support for those results. Indeed, when the audit team attempted to validate
the reported results by tracing from the summary amounts to the supporting
detail, it was unable to do so at either the mission or its implementing
partners… In the absence of a complete and current performance management
plan, USAID/Ethiopia is lacking an important tool for monitoring and
managing the implementation of its agricultural program.
Watching diplocrisy in Technicolor
There is nothing more mind-bending and funny than watching hypocrisy in
Technicolor. Earlier this month, in an act of shameless diplocrisy,
Secretary Kerry expressed grave reservations about the legitimacy of the
election of Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela. Maduro won the
election by a razor thin margin of 50.66 percent of the votes. Opposition
leader Henrique Capriles rejected the results alleging irregularities and
demanding a recount of all votes.
Kerry supported Capriles’ demand for a recount. “We think there ought to be
a recount… Obviously, if there are huge irregularities, we are going to have
serious questions about the viability of that [Maduro] government.”
<
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/15/press-briefing-press-
secretary-jay-carney-4152013> White House spokesman Jay Carney also issued a
statement calling for a recount of all the votes.
… Given the tightness of the result — around 1 percent of the votes cast
separate the candidates – the opposition candidate and at least one member
of the electoral council have called for a 100 percent audit of the results.
And this appears an important, prudent and necessary step to ensure that all
Venezuelans have confidence in these results. In our view, rushing to a
decision in these circumstances would be inconsistent with the expectations
of Venezuelans for a clear and democratic outcome.
In May 2010 when the late Meles Zenawi claimed 99.6 percent victory in the
parliamentary elections and
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/world/africa/24ethiopia.html?_r=0>
leaders from Medrek, the largest opposition coalition, and the smaller All
Ethiopia Unity Party alleged glaring election fraud, vote rigging and denial
of American food aid to poor farmers unless they voted for the ruling party,
the U.S. response was “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.”
<
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-nsc-spokesman-mike-ham
mer-ethiopian-elections> White House National Security Spokesman Mike Hammer
could only express polite “concern” and muted “disappointment”:
We acknowledge the conclusion of Ethiopia’s parliamentary elections on May
23, 2010…
We are concerned that international observers found that the elections fell
short of international commitments. We are disappointed that U.S. Embassy
officials were denied accreditation and the opportunity to travel outside of
the capital on Election Day to observe the voting. The limitation of
independent observation and the harassment of independent media
representatives are deeply troubling.
An environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place even
before Election Day. In recent years, the Ethiopian government has taken
steps to restrict political space for the opposition through intimidation
and harassment, tighten its control over civil society, and curtail the
activities of independent media. We are concerned that these actions have
restricted freedom of expression and association and are inconsistent with
the Ethiopian government’s human rights obligations.
…We urge the Ethiopian government to ensure that its citizens are able to
enjoy their fundamental rights. We will work diligently with Ethiopia to
ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue
become a reality for the Ethiopian people.
Victory by 50.66 percent is irrefutable evidence of election fraud in
Venezuela but “all Ethiopians should have confidence” in the 99.6 percent
election victory of Meles Zenawi? Sounds like election certification in
Oceania. Rigged elections are free and fair elections!
Watching “fools, idiots” and sanctimonious diplocrites
If Susan Rice is to be believed, critics of Meles Zenawi and his regime (and
by implication critics of U.S. policy that supports the regime) are “fools
and idiots”. I guess if one must choose between being a “fool/idiot” and a
hypocrite/diplocrite, one is well-advised to choose the former. A fool does
or does not do the right thing because s/he lacks intelligence and
understanding. S/he has the potential to learn and make right choices. But
the cunning diplocrite does the wrong thing with full knowledge and
understanding of the wrongfulness of his/her acts. S/he is unteachable and
incorrigible. No one knows more about the difference between right and wrong
than diplocrites, yet they do wrong because they don’t give a _ _ _ _!
The U.S. has been practicing diplocrisy in Ethiopia for the past two
decades. It has propped up the regime of Meles Zenawi with billions of
dollars of “development” and “humanitarian” aid while filling the stomachs
of starving Ethiopians with empty words and emptier promises. Since 1991,
the West in general has provided Meles’ regime nearly $30 billion in aid.
In 2008 alone, $3 billion in international aid was delivered on a silver
platter to Meles, more than any other nation in sub-Saharan Africa. In March
2011, Howard Taylor, head of the British aid program declared Ethiopia will
receive $2 billion in British development assistance. In 2010, the EU
delivered £152m to Meles Zenawi.
In December 2010, Human Rights Watch called on the Development Assistance
Group (DAG), a coordinating body of 26 foreign donor institutions for
Ethiopia to “independently investigate allegations that the Ethiopian
government is using development aid for state repression.” In July 2010, a
DAG-commissioned study issued a whitewash denying all allegations of
improper use of aid. In August 2011, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism
and the BBC reported the “Ethiopian government is using millions of pounds
of international aid to punish their political opponents.” The report
presented compelling evidence of how “aid is being used as a weapon of
oppression propping up the government of Meles Zenawi.” Despite numerous
documented reports of aid abuse and misuse, Western leaders and governments
continue to hide behind a policy of plausible deniability and the massaged
and embellished reports of swarms faceless international poverty-mongers
creeping invisibly in Ethiopia.
<
http://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/1426170_file_Norris_Veillette_aust
erity_0.pdf> The Center for Global Development in its comprehensive 2012
report cautioned, “The United States could be making a dangerous long-term
bet with its assistance dollars by placing so little emphasis on governance
in Ethiopia”, and US policymakers should temper their expectations for
future development prospects in Ethiopia under the current regime. Sorry, no
one is listening at the U.S. State Department, only watching.
Watching truth on the scaffold and wrong on the throne
“America is watching.” But is anybody watching America? The people of
Ethiopia are watching America asking, “Is America watching? Watching what?”
The powerful don’t believe the powerless are watching them because they
equate powerlessness with blindness. The powerless do watch because that is
all they can do. They watch boots pressing down on their necks. They watch
crimes committed against them as they sit helplessly with empty stomachs and
hearts filled with terror. When Kerry says, “America is watching”, he should
be mindful that Ethiopia’s poor and powerless are watching America with
outrage on their faces, sorrow in their hearts and resentment in their
minds.
I have watched Ethiopia’s “best and brightest” fall silent, deaf and mute
watching truth on the scaffold and wrong on the throne. They have been
watching the scaffold and throne like bystanders watching a crime scene —
horrified, terrified and petrified. Perhaps they should heed Dietrich
Bonhoeffer’s counsel, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to
speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
But if Robert Lowell is right, it does not matter who is watching silently,
watching peekaboo style, watching by turning a blind eye, watching for the
sake of watching or not watching at all, because there is One who standing
within the shadow watches the watchers, the watched and the unwatched:
Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne,—
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State
University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.
Previous commentaries by the author are available at:
<
http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/>
http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/
<
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/>
www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/
Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:
<
http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic>
http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic
http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24
Received on Mon Apr 29 2013 - 20:32:32 EDT
