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A
US Presidential executive on Somali sanctions
The
United States Government has designated a total of eleven people and
one organization, under a Presidential Executive Order, freezing any
assets they may have under US jurisdiction, and prohibiting all
financial and commercial transactions between any US person and these
individuals and the entity, Al-Shabaab. The order, from President
Obama, gives US Treasury officials broad powers to deal with Somali
militants, allowing the Treasury Department to sanction or freeze the
assets of individuals involved in piracy off Somalia’s coasts, or
militants who have done anything to threaten Somalia’s stability. The
order targets anyone who threatens the peace of Somalia, interferes
with the delivery of humanitarian assistance or violates the UN’s arms
embargo.
Top of the list is Al-Shabaab
as an organization that is engaged in acts that directly and
indirectly threaten the peace, security and stability of Somalia,
threatening the Djibouti Agreement, the political process in Somalia
and AMISOM, as well as obstructing the delivery of humanitarian
assistance. Then comes a list of people involved with various
opposition forces in Somalia, responsible for inciting attacks against
the TFG, mobilizing support and raising funds for the Alliance for the
Re-liberation of Somalia and Hizbul Islam and actively engaged in
threatening the peace and security of Somalia. These include Yasin Ali
Baynah, and Hassan Dahir Aweys, former chairman of the Eritrea-based
Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia and now of Hizbul Islam, Hassan
Abdullah Hersi al-Turki, a senior Al-Shabaab commander, like Bashir
Mohamed Mahamoud, and Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed (al Godane), the emir of
Al-Shabaab. Others include Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, and three people
allegedly involved in piracy: Mohamed Sa’id “Atom” a militia and
pirate commander operating in Puntland, Abshir Abdullahi, described as
key organizer and commander of some 500 pirates operating in the area
of Eyl; and another principal organizer and financier of pirate
activities, Mohamed Abdi Garaad. Another listed is Fares Mohammed
Mana’a described as a known arms trafficker and reportedly involved in
trafficking arms into Somalia for several years. The final name on the
list is Yemane Ghebreab, head of Political Affairs in Eritrea’s single
party, the Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice, and President
Isaias’s adviser on Somalia. In its listing the US government notes
that Yemane co-ordinates Asmara’s activities with Somali opposition
groups, and points out that the Government of Eritrea formally rejects
the Djibouti peace agreement of August 2008, denies the legitimacy of
the TFG and opposes the presence of AMISOM. It says a “number of
independent and mutually corroborating sources, including senior
members of [opposition forces] have identified Yemane as a primary
interlocutor on behalf of the Eritrean government with armed
opposition groups threatening the TFG and AMISOM.”
Several countries have
now begun to take steps to implement UN Security Council Resolution
1907 imposing sanctions against those involved in threatening the
peace, security and stability of Somalia, and specifically identifying
the role of Eritrea in this respect. The resolution decided the
sanctions shall apply to “…individuals and entities, including but not
limited to, the Eritrean political and military leadership,
governmental, and parastatal entities privately owned by Eritrean
nationals living within or outside of Eritrean territory, designated
by the Committee”. The UN Sanctions Committee has, however, yet to
take steps to itemise the names of those to whom the proposed
sanctions should apply. Nor has it yet provided names for the
sanctions proposed in UN Security Council Resolution 1844 (2008 )
which calls for member states to prevent entry or transit, freeze
funds and assets and prevent the supply, sale or transit of weapons by
individuals or entities designated by the Sanctions Committee with
reference to Somalia, more precisely entities designated by the
Committee:
(a) as engaging in or
providing support for acts that threaten the peace, security or
stability of Somalia, including acts that threaten the Djibouti
Agreement of 18 August 2008 or the political process, or threaten the
Transitional Federal Institutions or AMISOM by force;
(b) as having acted in
violation of the general and complete arms embargo…
(c) as obstructing the
delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia, or access to, or
distribution of, humanitarian assistance in Somalia.
Since the decision of
the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Eritrea last
December, it should be expected that the UN Sanctions Committee will
soon provide a list of the individuals and entities to be sanctioned.
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The
government’s progress report and a warning against incitement and
violence
Prime Minister Meles
presented a government report on Tuesday this week to the House of
People’s Representatives detailing the progress made in some of the
government’s major targets over the last nine months. The Prime
Minister is required by law to report on the government’s performance
twice a year, and this will be the last occasion before the election
on May 23rd. In the economic sector government aims
included registering more than 10% economic growth, bringing inflation
down below 10% and achieving at least a 25% increase in exports. The
Prime Minister noted that the projected economic growth for the
current budget year was 10.1% and this would mean an average of over
10% growth for the 7th consecutive year. On inflation,
incorporating the March figures demonstrated that the annual inflation
rate had slowed to 3.9%, bringing the figure down more than expected.
The Prime Minister said the export sector had declined by 10% last
year, but the figures for the first eight months of this year showed
21% growth and he was optimistic that the targeted 25% could therefore
be reached. He referred to the power shortages. He said Gilgel Gibe II
should be repaired by July, and that the Tana Beles project would be
finalized by the end of this month. This should resolve current power
shortages and also accommodate any increase in power demand over the
next year. He also noted that the government has successfully overcome
the problems following the uneven distribution of last year’s kremt
rains despite receiving less food aid than expected. He referred to
the progress in attaining quality education, to the priority given to
the expansion of health posts (with the aim of achieving one per
25,000 people) and the growth in health extension services. The Prime
Minister also spoke of the importance of holding democratic, peaceful
and credible elections pointing out the significance of the
introduction of the code of conduct, the creation of joint council to
settle disputes among parties, the agreement over access to media, the
allocation of government funds and the invitation to foreign election
observers. He detailed improvements to land management now starting
in Addis Ababa and to the government’s efforts at revenue collection
which this year will exceed the amount planned in the budget. He noted
the problems there had been in VAT collection, including illegal
activities of some civil servants, emphasising that improvements to
revenue collection also required the participation and support of the
public.
In sometimes frank
exchanges following the statement, opposition MPs raised a number of
issues with the Prime Minister. Dr. Merara Gudina of the Forum
coalition said that opposition members were being harassed, that
candidates had been beaten up and arrested, car windows had been
broken and some of his party members had been forced to leave places.
The EPRDF, he claimed, was deliberately transgressing the code of
conduct. Others complained that election posters were being defaced
and that many election officials were EPRDF members. Ato Lidetu Ayelew,
chairman of the Ethiopian Democratic Party, alleged there had been
attempts to campaign against him on religious lines in his
constituency. Ato Lidetu added that he wanted to see action and not
just words to deal with the attempts to defame him. The Prime Minister
strongly condemned the defacing of election posters and similar
activities from whatever side. Evidence of any such actions should, he
added, be given to the party councils. The Prime Minister also noted
that party members were forbidden to be election monitors and if any
were found to be so they should be reported. In response to Dr. Merara,
the Prime Minister noted it wasn’t the first time the Forum made these
allegations despite the fact that it was on poor moral ground in
making such complaints as it had repeatedly refused to sign the
election code of conduct before it became law, demonstrating that it
wasn’t ready to accept democratic principles voluntarily.
Nevertheless, he added, the Forum did of course have the right to
bring any complaints before the relevant organizations and obtain
solutions, but cases must be supported by reliable evidence. He said
this and other such allegations seemed to be intended to incite public
unrest and violence, and he warned that it was no longer possible for
people to do this and then to run away. If anybody thought this could
be done, they were completely wrong. It would, he said, result in
“dire consequences” for those responsible.
The Prime Minister
defended the difference between the government’s predictions of 10.1%
economic growth and opposition claims that the IMF put the figure at
no more than 6%. He pointed out that this wasn’t what the IMF said,
and in any case the government and the IMF always differed over the
predictions. In fact, the IMF and the World Bank had both accepted the
government’s actual figures for growth. He agreed that GDP was not
perhaps the best measurement for growth but it was the measurement in
general use. In reply to Ato Bulcha Demeksa, of the Oromo Federal
Democratic Party, who wondered how Ethiopia could achieve the sort of
figures only usually produced by China, South Korea or Taiwan, he
pointed out that Ethiopia had devised and adopted a developmental
model pertinent to its own experience, and had not “swallowed
neo-liberalism without chewing”. Its experience was similar in this
respect to China, South Korea and Taiwan and this explained Ethiopia’s
results. On the issue of corruption over VAT, also raised by members
of parliament, he accepted that there had been problems but emphasized
that the government could and would take corrective action as soon as
it became aware of the problem.
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Foreign Minister Seyoum in Finland, Norway and Italy
A high level Ethiopian
delegation led by Foreign Minster Seyoum Mesfin made official visits
to Finland, Norway and Italy last week, between April 6th
and April 10th, holding extensive discussions with high
level officials in all three countries on wide-ranging issues of
bilateral and regional matters of common interest. In Finland, the
first country on his itinerary, Minister Seyoum was warmly welcomed by
Mr. Alexander Stubb, Finland’s Minster for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Paavo
Vayrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Mr. Pekka
Haavisto, an MP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Special
Representative for African Crisis areas, Astrid Thors, Minister of
Migration and European Affairs and Martti Ahtisaari, the former
President of Finland. Minister Seyoum briefed the Finnish ministers on
the current state of affairs in Ethiopia as well as the political and
security developments in the Horn of Africa, underlining the major
political and economic achievements of recent years. He paid tribute
to Finland’s important intervention in key economic and social areas
through its development program in Ethiopia. He hoped the momentum of
the program might be continued and even speeded up. Minister Seyoum
also briefed the Finnish ministerial delegation on the preparations
being made for the elections in Ethiopia. On their part, the Finnish
officials emphasized that they were closely following Ethiopia’s
political, economic and social progress, including the election
process, with keen interest. They assured Minister Seyoum that Ethio-Finnish
economic and political partnership would be further consolidated in
the years ahead.
Following his successful
visit to Finland, Minister Seyoum arrived in Norway where he held
similar discussions with Mr. Jonas Gahr Store, Minster of Foreign
Affairs, Ms. Ingrid Fiskaa, State Secretary for International
Development, and Ms. Ine Marie E. Soreide, Chair of the Foreign
Affairs and Defense Standing Committee. Minister Seyoum briefed the
Norwegian authorities on Ethiopia’s progress in political, economic
and social matters and on the preparations for May’s national and
federal election. Noting the longstanding people-to-people
relationship, Minister Seyoum expressed his profound appreciation of
the economic partnership with Norway, emphasizing that adding the
economic assistance from Ethiopia’s partners had been an important
factor in achieving the double-digit economic growth Ethiopia had
registered over the last six years. Minister Seyoum detailed the
importance of the country’s ongoing power projects to Ethiopia and to
the region at large as a source of clean and renewable energy, and
requested the Norwegian authorities to consider making a strategic
intervention in the energy sector. The Norwegian officials, who
commended Ethiopia’s economic policy and its leadership’s commitment
to lifting the country out of the vicious cycle of poverty, expressed
their readiness to further expand areas of economic cooperation.
During his visit Foreign Minister Seyoum held fruitful discussions
with potential investors and briefed them on Ethiopia's investment
opportunities.
In both Finland and
Norway, Minister Seyoum held discussions with his counterparts on
regional issues with particular reference to current developments in
Sudan and Somalia. Minister Seyoum also conducted a round table
discussion on Sudan with a number of policy analysts at the Norwegian
Research and Foreign Policy Institution. On Sudan, implementation of
the CPA, this month’s election, next January’s referendum,
post-referendum scenarios, Darfur and other related issues were the
focal points of discussion. On Somalia, the recent political pact
concluded between the Transitional Government and Ahlu Sunna wal
Jama’a, piracy and the overall security and political situations were
discussed in detail. The prevailing challenges and the narrow
opportunities available in the quest for peace and security were
explored. There was agreement on the need for urgent intervention in
both countries by the international community to prevent degeneration
into chaos. There was unanimity that the conflicts in the Sudan and
Somalia could have major political ramifications throughout the Horn
of Africa, and in the continent at large, unless preventive measures
were taken, sooner rather than later.
Following the visit to
Scandinavia, the Ethiopian delegation visited Italy where Minister
Seyoum held talks with the Italian State Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Enzo Scoti, and other senior officials. Bilateral economic
relations and regional issues of common interest dominated the
discussions. Both sides expressed a commitment to consolidate economic
links, with particular emphasis on the on-going power projects. There
was agreement that these projects would have a huge impact on regional
economic integration and help create mutually advantageous links
between the countries of the Horn. The Italian authorities reiterated
their commitment to continue support for the power sector in
coordination with other partners of Ethiopia. The talks also dealt
with the current challenges facing the TFG in Somalia, particularly
the absence of institutional capacity in the areas of security and
defence, arising from the lack of financial resources that should have
been committed by the international community. The Italian side
emphasized that Italy has already committed substantial resources to
the TFG in the areas of institutional building, humanitarian
assistance, security and military matters. It underlined that Italy
was also ready to play a leading role in galvanizing financial as well
as political and diplomatic support for Somali’s Transitional Federal
Government.
******
Meanwhile, following his
return to Addis Ababa after a highly successful overseas tour,
Foreign Minister Seyoum signed
a Memorandum of Understanding with the Head of
the European Union Delegation, Ambassador Dino Sinigallia, for EU
observation of the elections on May 23rd. Signed here in Addis Ababa
on Wednesday, the Memorandum allows for the European Union to deploy
an Election Observation Mission to operate on the basis of the laws of
Ethiopia, accepted international standards and the European Union’s
election observation methodology and election mission code of conduct.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Seyoum said he was pleased to
welcome the decision of the EU to accept the invitation of the
Ethiopian Government to monitor the election. He also noted that he
was hopeful that the Observation Mission would make all possible
efforts to ensure that the problems associated with the Observer
Mission in 2005 were not repeated. He said that a consultation process
had been put in place between representatives of the Government of
Ethiopia and the European Union to settle any difference in
interpretation of the memorandum and any issue over its
implementation. Minister Seyoum emphasized that elections were an
important element of democracy and an expression of the will of the
people as laid down in the constitution. They were part of Ethiopia’s
determined efforts to entrench democracy in the country. They were not
however an end in themselves but a means of ensuring good governance
through building strong democratic institutions. The Minister said the
European Union was a valued development partner of Ethiopia. There
were many issues the two agreed on, and sometimes there might be “some
on which we disagree, but the mature relationship we have between us
has ensured our relations remain strong.” It was fitting, the Minister
said, that the European Union supported Ethiopia’s democratization
process with the deployment of an election observation mission.
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Sudan holds its multiparty elections
Last weekend, the Sudan
held its first multiparty elections since the 1980s. Although facing
considerable challenges and extended by an extra two days for
logistical reasons, the process was largely peaceful in both the north
and the south of the country. The people and Government of the Sudan,
and the Government of South Sudan should all be congratulated for a
peaceful and successful election. It underlines the fact that
democracy and the will of the people has begun to mean something in
the states of the region and emphasizes that peoples of the Horn in
general and of the Sudan in particular are becoming able to assert
their intentions on government. The elections were held in accordance
with the provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). On
elections, the CPA was very clear: “General elections at all levels of
Government shall be completed by the end of the third year of the
interim period; whoever runs in any election must respect, abide by
and enforce the Peace Agreement; representation of the north and the
south should be based on the population ratio; the percentages agreed
herein are temporary and shall either be confirmed or adjusted on the
basis of census results.” This made it very clear just how critical
the election would be for the Sudan as a whole and implementation of
the CPA in particular. The election is also a necessary pre-requisite
for the referendum on the future of South Sudan which will be held
next January.
Campaigning was largely
peaceful even though some politicians earlier decided to withdraw from
the presidential race, and some parties also decided not to
participate. The leaderships of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement
in the south and the National Congress Party in the north have made it
clear they will be ready to work with any and all parties even after
the elections. It is a reassuring sign that the process remains on the
right track. Officials in the South have appealed to voters to keep
calm even after the announcement of the results. The First
Vice-President of the Sudan and President of the Government of South
Sudan, Salva Kiir, told a press conference on the final day of
campaigning last Friday that if the SPLM wins the Southern Sudan
Presidency, as expected, he would make sure that the next southern
government would also include other like-minded political parties in
the South. His statement of inclusiveness was widely welcomed and is
expected to help maintain calm after the results are announced.
In Khartoum, Presidential
Adviser, Ghazi Salah Al-Deen Al-Attabani, said that the NCP would like
the opposition to join the government ranks after the election, even
those parties which boycotted the election. Al-Attabani noted: “We are
facing important decisions like self-determination in the south and
would like to garner as much support and as much consensus as we can".
Others seemed doubtful that some opposition parties would accept any
such idea. Presidential Assistant, Nafie Ali Nafie, qualified Mr. Al-Attabani’s
remarks by saying that those parties which boycotted the election
would of course have to recognize the results if they wanted to take
advantage of this offer, and he did not feel they would do so. At a
press briefing, he accused some of planning a coup against the new
government: "they are going to go to the streets and try to change the
regime through conflict, riots." He suggested they would try to
convince public opinion that this was possible, but they would quickly
discover any such idea was no more than a mirage".
UN Secretary-General Ban
ki-Moon has congratulated all those who took part in the elections,
which he said “despite the reported irregularities and opposition
boycotts, took place without any major incident of violence." In a
statement, the Secretary-General called on “all political leaders and
their supporters to refrain from actions that could jeopardize the
peaceful conclusion of the electoral process," noting that any
“electoral grievances should be addressed through appropriate legal
and institutional channels and reviewed in a fair and transparent
manner." The elections were observed by observation missions from IGAD
and the African Union, the European Union and the Carter Centre. With
the results not yet declared, none of the Observer Missions have made
any announcements about the conduct of the election process. There is
no doubt, however, that the people of the Sudan have made a
significant breakthrough which should be encouraged and commended. The
process provides a positive example and lesson for the referendum
planned for January 2011in South Sudan in accordance with the
provisions of the CPA. IGAD in its recent Summit in Nairobi expressed
its full support to the election in the Sudan, and urged the
Government of the Sudan and all parties to ensure the removal of all
obstacles to a free and fair election. They appear to have done so
with remarkable success.
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Ethiopian Community meetings in the United States
Last weekend, a
delegation of Federal and regional state officials from Ethiopia held
a meeting with members of the Diaspora in Los Angeles, California.
Headed by Ato Berhane Hailu, Federal Minister of Justice, the
delegation included representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and regional administrations. The meeting was chaired by Ambassador
Taye Atske Selassie, Consul General in Los Angeles. Minister Berhane
briefed the nearly two hundred participants on current political,
economic and social issues, and on the preparations for the elections
next month. He detailed Ethiopia’s over-all achievements and itemized
noticeable shortcomings that still needed to be tackled. He underlined
the importance of treating all citizens equally and justly, and
underscored the need to accept the Constitution as the supreme law of
the land. He emphasized the value of education in the fight against
poverty and in helping to raise living standards. He highlighted the
necessity to resolve differences of thought and opinion through
peaceful discourse and dialogue. He spoke of the importance of
enhancing the participation of women in all aspects of development,
and of the need for hard work to build a democratic “middle-income”
Ethiopia in the near future.
Meanwhile, another
high-level delegation has also been touring the US. Led by the
Vice-President of the Oromia Regional State, Ato Abdul-Aziz Mohammed,
the delegation has been to Washington and Atlanta where it has been
holding meetings and discussions with hundreds of Ethiopian-Americans.
The delegation was welcomed in Washington by representatives of the
Ethiopian-American Alliance and in Atlanta by representatives of the
Ethiopia Joint Development Association. The delegation has been
briefing members of the Diaspora on the preparations for the national
and regional elections, and on current achievements and problems.
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Ensuring the integrity of the upcoming elections: party loyalty to
rules of the game
Strengthening of
democracy in any country must largely depend upon the extent to which
citizens take the process, and the institutions underpinning it,
seriously. In a word, the success of a democracy building project
depends on whether or not the citizens own the process. In the absence
of a sense of ownership among various stakeholders, whether government
or opposition parties, civic associations, individual citizens,
achieving a meaningful level of democratization with no more than a
declared embrace of lofty ideals can only be wishful thinking. In
order to succeed in the process of building democracy, it is more than
anything else necessary for stakeholders to be willing to remain true
to their avowed beliefs, but even more to give their all to the
further strengthening of the various institutions pivotal for
democracy to take deeper root. At the very minimum, all stakeholders
should be willing to abide by the fundamental rules of the game,
ensuring the reliability and predictability of their own actions in a
manner to help sustain a healthy regulation of the relations between
and among each other. In fact, any regression to authoritarianism, as
sometimes witnessed in Africa as elsewhere, can be attributed less to
a lack of commitment to the ideals of democracy than to the reluctance
by some stakeholders to properly observe the rules of the game in
their efforts to achieve their intended alternative outcome to the
process.
This particular challenge
to the process of building democracy is nowhere more pronounced than
the manner in which these stakeholders conduct themselves before,
during and after elections. Otherwise latent but undemocratic
proclivities often start to rear their head just as electoral
processes begin in earnest. This challenge can be particularly
troubling as the gains made in building democratic institutions
between elections are often suspect after election-related
recriminations and counter-recriminations. The integrity of the entire
process is rendered doubtful. In a context where some stakeholders
place a higher premium on the outcome of elections rather than the
integrity of the process, and third parties are all-too-ready to
denigrate the conduct of the election, elections can fall short of
engendering democratic ideals. Indeed, they can degenerate into
circuses putting the sustainability of the process into question. As
circumstances in May 2005 made very clear, the propensity of some
stakeholders to try to short-circuit the way to power, the failure to
show loyalty to the rules of the game, can certainly cause major
challenges that can outlive their original context.
The campaign for the
elections is now gathering pace by the day. It is, therefore,
worthwhile to reiterate the need for a hard and serious look at the
way various stakeholders in the Ethiopian body politic are behaving.
Political parties are putting forward their political platforms in
various media. The allocation of air time in the public media has
clearly helped parties access supporters and potential supporters
across the country. The six televised debates among political parties
have attracted a huge audience (the seventh debate is being held this
evening). They have produced a significantly heightened interest in
the content of the debates. Inter-party councils, as envisaged in the
code of conduct, have been operating both at Federal and regional
levels. Allegations of misconduct are therefore being handled in
accordance with agreed procedures. There is a widespread sense of
anticipation that the conduct of the election and the results will be
as flawless as both government and opposition parties who are
genuinely interested in the fairness of the whole procedure hope it
will be. There does appear to be a much clearer understanding that the
integrity of the elections are really crucial in ensuring the
democratization process in the country can survive the gloomy
predictions of its detractors abroad and the drab mimicry of their
rejectionist elements within Ethiopia. As much as there is room for
optimism, there are also indications that a lot more is still required
both from government and opposition alike to hold undemocratic
proclivities that might potentially stand in the way of conducting
free and fair elections, in check.
Here, the idea of the
loyalty of parties to the constitutional order cannot be overstressed.
In fact, this is the centre-piece of any viable multi-party democracy.
The most minimal knowledge of how democracy operates underlines the
fact that the presence or absence of a loyal opposition, loyal that is
to the constitutional order, is the difference between a functioning
democracy and virtual anarchy. All parties should refrain from
activities that undermine the rule of law or other democratic
institutions for these are what will ultimately determine the
viability of the entire democratization process. In the past, a major
political undercurrent of the opposition in Ethiopia has been
rejection of the concept of a loyal opposition. Opposition politics
were often exemplified by debates full of sloganeering with a refusal
to offer any hostages to fortune. Even today, the effect of this can
be seen by a tendency of some in the opposition to consider anyone who
expresses loyalty to the constitution as mere stooges of the
government, however critical they may also be of government policies.
The destructive effect of this mentality was very clear in the missed
opportunities of May 2005. It is still far from clear whether all
opposition learnt sufficient lessons from that episode. Some members
of the opposition have been recently publicly declaring they are ‘the
rightful successors of the CUD of 2005’, implying that problems of
2005 have not entirely disappeared. Ironically, proponents of this
rejectionist tendency actually draw their main support from actors
hailing from political systems that thrive on the existence of loyal
opposition.
All genuine Ethiopian
political parties, of whatever political persuasions, must repudiate
this rejectionist tendency and the insulting stance of its foreign
benefactors. Temptations to relapse into old habits of incessant
allegations at every opportunity should be avoided as much as
possible. Whatever complaints there may be, real or perceived, are
better left to the inter-party councils. This will progressively
encourage a sense of confidence in the institutions among all the
parties which should also bear in mind that only strict adherence to
the rule of law and continued tolerance and mutual respect towards
each other can bring the desired benefits to the peoples of Ethiopia.
The responsibility for the integrity of the electoral process carries
a lot more weight than merely the specific outcome of the voting. As a
party contending for power, the ruling party is, of course, duty bound
to abide by the rules governing all parties. On a more fundamental
level, its sense of ownership of the entire process should, as always,
inform its relations with other parties. Its willingness to
accommodate the demands of opposition parties during the series of
negotiations on the code of conduct was exemplary. But negotiations
among parties must always enhance the rule of law and never erode it.
The ruling party should continue to hold itself as much accountable to
the rules of the game as all other parties. It is commendable that it
is continuing the training of its cadres on the code of conduct and
other relevant laws. No one is above the law, and as Prime Minister
Meles reiterated in his address to parliament this week, the ruling
party is more than willing to co-operate with all parties loyal to the
constitution irrespective of their political differences. The Prime
Minister made it clear the EPRDF would have no qualms whatsoever about
removing from its ranks members that display any undemocratic
proclivities or any found interfering in the activities of opposition
parties. His party, he said, would rather get rid of any recalcitrant
members in order to ensure the integrity of elections than ignore any
unbecoming behaviour. Reassuring to those who are able to back up
allegations with evidence but they will also need to demonstrate any
element of reciprocity, and stick to the rules of the game
throughout.
The government is under no illusion that there is room for
complacency. It will continue to do its level best to encourage all
parties to come to terms with the need to respect the rule of law. It
will also continue to insist that the integrity of the elections
cannot be held hostage by rejectionist elements with a penchant for
the dramatic. It must continue to insist that anything that falls
short of affirming the rules of the game is out. The democratization
process can never be allowed to degenerate into an exercise in
cynicism. The election cannot be allowed to serve as the forum for
rejectionist politicians with divided loyalty and external sponsors
dictating alien demands. The peoples of Ethiopia deserve, and will
get, better.
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