Obama and Meles Zenawi’s Ticket
Amanuel Biedemariam
For decades, the West fed the
people of Africa lies about democracy, the
rule of law, standing for the rights of people, freedom of press etc… ad nausea.
But contrary to the advertising and flouting of these grandiose’ ideals,
Western nations have served Africans tyranny with all its vice on a bloody
platter. The Bush administration, Tony Blair and their Western allies were
notorious for cuddling African tyrants like Meles Zenawi. When President Obama
run for the White House, his lead slogan was, “Change We Can Believe In.” Africans believed on President Obama and
envisioned a change that they could themselves believe in through him. However, President Obama did not bring
change. Rather, he embraced former President Bush’s approach of cuddling
tyrants for strategic gains.
In the 2008 Presidential
election campaign, President Obama was able to motivate the democrat base and
managed to bring a new voter base. President Obama energized the youth that is
traditionally hard to motivate and added, a new voter group that is getting
more significant in the US
presidential election.
In Virginia, this demographic
group is comprised of emigrants from the Far East, Africa, Middle East and
other parts of the world. This
demographic group includes Ethiopians, Somalis, Eritreans and others from the
Horn of Africa that reside in Arlington, Fairfax and Alexandria counties in
large numbers. In the 2008 presidential election race, this group voted heavily
democratic and gave President Obama a decisive victory by 6-7 percentage
points. For first time since 1964, Democrat, a Black Democrat at that won the
State of Virginia overwhelmingly.
The numbers are revealing. In Arlington,
out of 108,870 total votes, 72% of the votes totaling 78,994, in Alexandria 72% (50,473) votes and in Fairfax, out of 511,353 votes 60% totaling
310,359 people voted for Obama. Of these numbers, chunks of the populations represent
the above mentioned demographic. These heavily populated areas decided the 2008
Virginia presidential race.
However, more than the actual
votes, the energy that the Obama candidacy aroused was historic. President
Obama was able to motivate untraditional voting groups into a political
euphoria for the ages. Kids were holding on to his every world. Parents wanted
President Obama to be the role model and took his rise as a proof, that in
life, all is possible including the possibility of becoming a President if one
does all the right things. People spent hours glued to TV yearning to hear his
powerful words. They wanted to trust him, believe in him and, his message for
change. Kids campaigned selling his agendas and made substantial funding contributions
for his campaign. In recent presidential elections history, American s have
never witnessed young blacks around the country actively participate with that level
of excitement.
Will that be the case in the
2012 election? Will Ethiopians, Somalis,
Eritreans and others from the Horn of Africa vote with the same enthusiasm
again? The answer is a big NO. President Obama will have serious problem
recapturing their votes let alone exciting them to campaign for him as they
have in the past. The Obama campaign will face serious repercussions for
continuing Bush’s policies; for betraying their trusts and for misleading them
into believing his message of “change.”
In May 18, 2012, President
Obama invited Meles Zenawi to the G8 meeting in Washington and, for the Global Conference on
food security. The reasons President Obama invited Meles Zenawi to this high-level
global meeting is consistent with that of George W. Bush’s.
President Obama invited tyrant
Meles Zenawi to give him exposure, to raise his status as global player and, to
use him as a voice in his quest to sell his Africa agenda that aims to exploit
the strategic importance and riches of Africa.
Meles Zenawi happens to be the mercenary agent that fits the qualifications
perfect. Meles is a brut, unashamed to lie and, he happens to be ruling a
country that houses the African Union. Meles Zenawi also assists US military in
the Horn of Africa. So, he is indispensable tool of US Africa policy. Hence,
what President Barack Obama did by inviting Meles is no different than Bush’s,
just pursuing US national interests with flawed, unsustainable and damaging
policies.
President Obama is
knowledgeable about the kind of leader Meles Zenawi is as well as his track
record of repression and brutality. President Obama is fully aware about the
current state of the region and particularly Ethiopia. The people of Ethiopia and
the region are desperate for peace, stability and opportunities to develop. And
Meles represents none of that.
What President Obama did is a slap to the face of Africans
and particularly the people of Ethiopia
because; it is hypocritical to bring Meles Zenawi to a conference on food
security when he is selling fertile land to multinationals by uprooting people
from their homes. It is a shameful reminder of the hypocrisy of the West to
invite a ruler as a spokesperson on food security when he has consistently
starved people for decades.
Concerned Congressman Chris
Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa,
Global Health and Human Rights said on this matter,
"Several years ago, I introduced legislation to
sanction the Ethiopian government for the killing of peaceful protesters in
2005 and its broader violations of human rights,"
Congressman Smith further noted,
"Not only do human rights
violations continue in Ethiopia, but the government has now added the element
of displacing their own people in favor of foreign interests farming Ethiopian
land instead of their own citizens. Having Ethiopia at the table to discuss
food security is counter-productive based on their land policies.”
Concluding Remarks
President Obama is no different than George W. Bush! Ethiopians need to
know and understand what President Obama did, while particular to Ethiopians,
is as significant to Africans because the issue Obama wanted to exploit is food
security and, when pertaining to Africa, Obama chose, tyrant in Chief Meles
Zenawi to address it. By inviting Meles Zenawi, President Obama made it clear
to the people of Africa and specifically the people of Ethiopia that he doesn’t
care about the country, the people or governance. Obama showed the world Meles
Zenawi is more important than Ethiopia
and Africa.
By his brazen disregard to the people of Ethiopia and Africans,
President Barack Obama inadvertently advertised, in the election of 2012, a
vote for Obama is a vote for Meles Zenawi.
By inviting Meles Zenawi to the G8 meetings, President Obama affirmed
his continuous support for Meles. Hence, voting for President Barack Obama in
the 2012 election is tantamount to voting for Obama and Meles Zenawi’s Ticket.
This is what all voters need to keep in mind when voting.
To be continued…
Awetnayu_at_hotmail.com
----[Mailing List for Eritrea Related News ]----
Received on Mon May 21 2012 - 10:26:25 EDT
