It was judgment given before the defence had access to all the
fabricated evidences let alone examining their credibility. It proves
that it is the verdict written by the executive and read through its
symbiotic judiciary structures.

The government might have taken such bizarre position to avoid further
embarrassment from exposure of the concocted evidences that might
surface out through cross-examinations. It was also designed to cover
up the broad day light killings of the 193 peaceful demonstrators using
excessive government forces deployed at the instruction of the Prime
Minister.

The current Ethiopian leadership and its cohort symbiotic relationship
with the judiciary have had obstructive outcomes. It has sawed seed of
apathy on the ‘oversight’ role of the legislature and instilled lose of
confidence in the application of the rule of law. The judges who gave
the recent verdict on the CUD prisoners of conscience could not escape
being accountable for being part of this malicious hidden agenda of the
government in power.

The manner in which the judgements were conducted is a clear
manifestation of the deceitful character of the current Ethiopian
government, which in effect is all out to destroy the principles of
judicial safeguards necessary for entrenching democratic system of
governance. Good governance and hence, striving for social cohesion in
state can only prevail if there are honesty & integrity in governance,
magnanimity and foresight in the leadership and accommodation &
reconciliation by all parties. It can be effective if ‘people’s
interests or the public good at large’ are at the epicentre of decision
making processes of the government.

The ‘barometer for good governance’ under the current Ethiopian
government, has definitely moved to its lowest ebb. As it stands, the
legal system in the country has not been bestowed with the mandate to
interpret the law within the confines of the constitutional
imperatives.

The judges read what was given to them by the executive; or else follow
through by reading the minds and lips of the executive branch.

Independence of the judiciary, respect for human rights, and free
expression of thoughts are key pillars that ensure commitments to good
governance. When the chair of a team, the umpire and the adjudicators
are one and the same, the after effect will definitely be erosion of
confidence in the legal system. This judicial failure has transpired to
disrespect of the government [overt & covert] slowly transforming
itself
to `civil disobedience and civil strife.

The prevailing impasse with the CUD prisoners of conscience could only
be resolved through open dialogue and not through force and
manipulation
of the judiciary system. The eight point conditions for negotiated
settlement tabled by the CUD leadership immediately after the aborted
election of May 2005 are the sound and reasonable basis for opening up
the discussions and dialogue. Unfortunately, the current EPRDF
government doesn’t have the decency, appetite and the culture to
consult
with experts and stakeholders on available options that would open up
avenues for building consensus with its political adversaries. In
essence, they have little or no foresight on medium to long term
consequences emanating from their oblique decisions. Their political
expediency is largely based on arrogance sidelining substantive issues.
That is what makes them despots. As it stands, history is repeating
itself. The era of Mobutu, Edi Amin, Banda, Mengistu…etc are
unravelling itself and loudly echoing with new younger emerging
‘compatriots’ taking forward their torch and legacies.

If you line up some of the serious policy decisions the current
Ethiopian government had taken so far, you can draw up some
conclusions.
One of the key conclusions is that there is something seriously wrong
with their mind-set – their value system badly & negatively structured.
The policy directions they issue and the system they follow to
implement
them are not based on objective empirical research works – fine-tuned
through genuine consultative processes. They are individual directed
[top down], unaccommodating and ego centred with utter arrogance in
statements of facts. They have little elements of ‘public good’ in
them. The political and social trajectories espoused so far do not in
anyway advance social cohesion that is a salient ingredient for
sustainable development.

The way they depicted the Ethiopian flag, the unilateral political
decision for Eritrean independence without some kind of referendum on
the issue by Ethiopians – or at least negotiated positions on access to
the sea, firing of the AA University professors and lecturers (about 40
of them in late 1990s), the manner in which the Ethio-Eritrean war was
concluded, the recent border disputes with Eritrea and the manner in
which it was negotiated & handled (starting from the TOR design to
submission of supporting documents), the imprisonment the CUD
opposition
leaders and journalists, the Somali debacle, the Auditor General’s
report on budgetary mismanagement…etc, are few that one can highlight
as disastrous outcomes of policy decisions of the regime.

The EPRDF’s political expediencies and the respective strategies it
applies to see them through will gradually denigrating the country into
crises, chaos and anarchy ultimately leading to some kind of civil
strife. Moreover, the absence of oversight functions by the
legislature, the lack of honesty and integrity by the executive and
failure of the judiciary to uphold the rule of law have created an
amenable environment for corruption and nepotism.

In conclusion, the leadership’s conceptualization of high-valued
national issues and their sinister instinct that helps them navigate
options to take judgements are inadvertently leading the country into
dismal failure. There definitely prevails some kind of ‘ostrich
mentality’ riveting within the Ethiopian leadership structure. Their
entire strategy revolves around rehearsals that outwit and impress the
foreign community – mainly the donors. These approaches may not
sustain
for long. As the saying goes; ‘you can cheat the people and the foreign
community ones but you can not cheat them all the times’. Thanks to
the
fast e-networks, Ethiopians at home and in diaspora and the
international community at large are all aware of the deceitful
characters of the ruling party.