Questions to Meles Zenawi

By Concerned Citizens | January 23, 2008

Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

It is often said that in a situation where there are no checks and balances, transparency and accountability, or an enlightened free press and civil society, those who hold power cannot wield it without instilling tyranny, or master corruption without being corrupted.

We have heard very many conflicting views about your government. As a result, we, a group of Ethiopian students in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Ethiopia who have no reason to fear your government, want to give you the benefit of the doubt. In that context, we have formulated the following series of questions for your consideration. We are also inviting Ethiopian civil society groups and discussion forums to study the questions. Your Excellency can be assured that your response to them will stimulate more discussion and research to the good of the country and your government. It is in this spirit that we took the initiative to forward the questions. Since we live in a globalized village, we have also sent copies of the questions to certain governments and international organizations of our interest.

Now to the questions:

1. Are you a man with a clean conscience?
2. To what extent has your childhood and upbringing affected your personality?
3. Rightly or wrongly, some individuals claim that just like Mengistu Haile Mariam, you are intimidated by intellectuals, and that you would like to shine in a world of collective mediocrity. Could you comment?
4. Why did you dismiss 42 academicians from their university teaching positions?
5. When medical doctors requested for pay raise, you said to them that they can go where they want. Ethiopia does not need medical doctors. Could you comment?
6. Why is the traffic blocked for hours on end whenever you move from one part of Addis Ababa to the other part?
7. Your critics point out that sane and rational leaders go out of their way to unite their people. But in your case, because of your intense hatred for anything Ethiopian, you are busy tearing down the very fabric that holds the country together. The Rwanda version of “Interahamwe” is your pipe dream for Ethiopia. Could you comment?
8. In the USA where you have a population of 300 million and who speak 311 languages, Senator Barrack Obama, a black man running for the presidency declares “we are one nation and one people.” Yet, despite the fact that Ethiopia is one of the world’s oldest civilizations, you present it as if it is a political fiction. “If Ethiopia disintegrates,” you say, “so be it. It was not meant to be.“ That is what is called planned prophecy. Could you comment?
9. Why did you struggle for Eritrean independence for seventeen years, only to make Ethiopia land-locked?
10. Is there a secret agreement between you and President Isaiyas Afewerki of Eritrea?
11. In the recent conflict where Ethiopia had a clear advantage over Eritrea, why did you have to stop military operations half way, when you could have gone all the way to Asmara and beyond?
12. If diplomatic history be a guide, when negotiations take place between two countries after a conflict, the victorious side usually dictates the terms of peace. But this was not the case with Ethiopia. You could not even have the decency to see to it that the fallen heroes were buried with honor. Why?
13. Ethiopia’s inspiring history, unique civilization, patriotic nationalism, and continued independence, has serious implications for Western interests in Africa and the Middle East. Given that, why did you formulate an apartheid system of ethnic federation for Ethiopia that is intended to destroy Pan-Ethiopian nationalism? Which foreign powers helped you in its very conception and formulation?
14. There have always been peasant uprisings in Ethiopia, including in the Amhara provinces. These uprisings took place to resist exploitation, exorbitant taxation, land eviction, tenancy, corruption, and so on. Why were these uprisings called “ethnic”, when they were not?
15. You claim to be a democrat. Yet, in 1991, you insisted that Ethiopians be organized on “ethnic” basis, and refused to allow the Pan-Ethiopian nationalists and patriots to participate in any discussion concerning their country’s future. Why? Why do you now expect them to obey your constitution and the laws of your regime?
16. Those self-sacrificing Ethiopian patriots who contributed immensely to the struggle against foreign aggression, and who kept the country independent , and those who have been involved in a series of attempted coup d’états against the governments of Haile Selassie and the Dergue, are now branded as “chauvinists” and enemies of the people. Why is this so?
17. You claim to be guided by “the principle of self-determination. “ Why did you then annex by force of arms Raya, Azebo, Alamata and Ofla from Wollo Province, and Humera, Wolkait, and Tsegede from Gondar Province, which have never been part of Tigrai, and evicted the natives and settled some 700,000 Tigrean farmers and soldiers on their land? Why are hundreds of them languishing in dungeons in Tigrai? Why is land which belongs to Ethiopia being constantly transferred to the Sudan? It is estimated that over the last sixteen years, some $3 billion worth of agricultural produce has been marketed from these regions and pocketed by your friends and TPLF business concerns. The people of Gondar Province, for instance, are exploring the possibilities of taking the case to court. They not only want the release of all those whom you still keep in prison, and the return of their land, but also the retroactive payment of some $3 billion as compensation for what they have lost from their farms. Could you comment?
18. Why did you dismantle the Ethiopian Armed Forces? Why did you destroy the military facilities, tank, and ammunition factories in Ambo in 1991?
19. What did you do to the Ethiopian Navy?
20. Over the last sixteen years, Ethiopia has received some $24 billion in donor aid and grants. Yet, the country cannot even feed itself, and some 80% of the population in urban areas is unemployed. Where is the money? Can you account for it? Are there any under-table deals which prevent accountability?
21. You claim that you live poor, and that you have no foreign bank accounts or property what so ever. How true is this?
22. You claim that you went to Somalia to fight against terrorism. Why did you then open Ethiopia’s doors to Wahabists, Islamic fundamentalists, and terrorists?
23. What is the rationale behind the TPLF monopoly of economic and political power, and its ethnic cronyism?

According to the Corruption Perceptions Index of 2006, out of 158 countries, Ethiopia ranks 137th. From this impoversihed country of ours, billions of dollars are being transferred from Ethiopia to foreign banks. One British newspaper, for instance, recently wrote that money coming out of Ethiopia, and entering British banks has increased by 104%. Whose money is it? Would you be willing to cooperate with the STOLEN ASSET RECOVERY INITIATIVE [SARI] of the United Nations and the World Bank, which will investigate the stolen assets stashed in foreign countries?

With deep thanks.