The Washington Post Got It Wrong Again!

By Esayas Teklit

7/28/2007

First of all, I applaud the government for granting full clemency to CUD leaders for it sets a precedent and shows uncommon wisdom that has been absent from the national psyche of Ethiopian politics for quite some time now.

The Post’s editorial miserably failed to see the facts while the handwriting was all over the wall. Surprisingly enough, it did not bother to ask the hard questions. How could the Post say a “preposterous charge” when it stated 193 civilians and six police officers lost their lives? Obviously, it does not add up. Does it? Wasn’t that horrendous enough to press charges against those who engineered it? Who was behind it and for what purpose? Did the Post ask how could this many people lose their life?

For those of us who are Ethiopian watchers, it is still in our fresh memory that following the result of May 2005 general election, the inner circle of CUD leaders worked overtime to undo the election outcome they did not like. They used every arsenal at their disposal legally or not. They ran their course and things came to pass.

The government held the hardliner wing of CUD accountable for crossing lines they knew they should not have. Just to name a few, they attempted to incite violence along ethnic lines, organized a series of demonstrations with the intent to cause chaos, killed police officers while on the on the line of duty. The list could go on and on. Now, if the Post considers “preposterous charge,” for major transgressions such as these, I do not know what constitutes otherwise. Is the Post saying such offenses never happened; the government made up facts or doctored evidence? As the late Sen. Patrick Moynihan said “you are entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own fact.” Like the rest of us, the Post’s editorial is entitled to its opinion, but not to a fact it does not exist.

Secondly, for the record, the government did not deny CUD leaders to join the parliament. The fact is before the CUD leaders committed themselves into doing the intolerable; the government took the high road and engaged them as seriously as possible, and rightly so. For example, with the mediation of third parties such as representatives of US Embassy and the European Union in Addis Ababa, the government went out of its way and directly appealed to the opposition party leaders to join the parliament. Moreover, for their own safety, the government repeatedly advised them to be on the side of law. However, the government’s continuous effort to solve the impasse resulted in a mixed bag. Some members of the opposition chose the responsible and honorable path and joined the parliament (as we speak they are playing a constructive role in the democratization process of the country); those who decided to wreak havoc, declaratively made their intent crystal clear that they would not join the parliament and continued to put themselves above the law. As the result, the government was left no choice but to carry out its responsibility - maintaining law and order. Plain and simple.

Thirdly, in exchange for their “Get Out of Jail,” cards, CUD leaders unequivocally admitted that their actions were illegal and acted outside the realm of the constitution. They took full responsibility for it, and regretted it, at least on paper. Despite this fact, the Post went on to say “they [CUD leaders] never should have been there [prison] in the first place.” One might wonder the Post is trying to be more catholic than the pope here. Hello? As a matter of fact, some of the prisoners are lawyers by training. As part of a plea agreement, did they not know what kind of paperwork they agreed to sign; did they not understand what they were getting themselves into?

The Post informed us the opposition leader, Hailu Shawol, claims that he signed the document “under duress”. Needles to say, I think the opposition leader wants to have his cake and eat it too. The fact is there are still some rank and file members of the CUD party who reportedly declined to sign the document and have remained behind bars to this writing. Were they not “under duress” enough?

Last but not least, whether it is in China, Iraq, Darfur or anywhere else, the rule of law ought to be the vehicle through including which a democratic society can stride. John Adams said “we are a nation of law not men.” This monumental and instructive principle ought to be embraced by all around the world regardless of culture, creed or political stripe CUD leaders in Ethiopia.