Eskinder Nega is still
drumming for democracy in Ethiopia. From inside the belly of the infamous Meles
Zenawi Prison in Kality, just outside the capital Addis Ababa. Until recently,
Eskinder was in solitary confinement. He was allowed to see only his wife and
son and a couple of other relatives.
Eskinder is condemned to
18 years in prison. His unspeakable crimes include speaking truth to
power, writing the naked truth about the late dictator Meles Zenawi, standing
defiant against the abuse of power and speaking his mind fearlessly as a free
human being.
Shakespeare wrote, “The
evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.”
The evil Meles Zenawi did when he lived still lives on in the shattered lives
of journalists Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu and Woubshet Taye, opposition
leader Andualem Aragie, activists Olbana Lelisa, Bekele Gerba, Abubekar
Ahmed, Ahmedin Jebel and the many thousands of Ethiopian political
prisoners. It is true evil never dies; it merely changes its form and shape. It
takes a new name and puts on a new face.
Eskinder is one free
Ethiopian in prison. Since September 2011, we have not heard his drumbeats for
democracy. Meles Zenawi Prison is a virtual black hole. It is a place of total
darkness. Not even the enlightened ones can escape.
But we need not hear
Eskinder’s drumbeats of democracy. We can feel them. Like our heartbeats.
Silently. Rhythmically. Rhapsodically. His enforced silence echoes in our minds
and we amplify the sounds of his enforced silence to the world. We reverberate
his message. Though we lack his supreme courage, fortitude and stamina, we are
unrepentant members of his marching band, and he is our drum major. We all
aspire to be Eskinder Nega. Eskinder Nega is us! We are Eskinder Nega! I am
Eskinder Nega!
Eskinder Nega is my personal
hero. I have written “special tributes for him”. It has been my great
privilege to stand by Eskinder’s side, though from thousands of miles away;
and defend the honor, character and integrity of this great man with my
pen (keyboard). It is an understatement for me to say Eskinder is my hero. He
is much more than that. He is my inspiration. Eskinder taught me the true
meaning of courage— that capacity of to stand up for one’s beliefs and fight
with the weapon of truth and ideas.
Eskinder taught me the
true meaning of the expression that the limits of tyrants are prescribed
by the endurance of those whom they oppress. Eskinder is a living example of
the proposition that there can be no victory in the struggle for democracy,
freedom and human rights without sacrifice, dogged tenacity and fortitude --
that inner strength of mind and spirit to bear pain and adversity with courage
and grace. Eskinder challenged us to answer that difficult question which
most of us seek to avoid: Will we define the defining moment in our lives or
let the moment define us in that moment?
Eskinder, for me, is the
personification of the audacity of faith and hope that Ethiopia’s young
people will rise triumphant in the end regardless of the brutality, inhumanity
and barbarity of those who oppress them. For they are destined by Providence to
be victorious over the inglorious. Ethiopia’s youth shall inherit an Ethiopia
that is at peace with itself, with its neighbors and with Providence. Those who
have troubled the House of Ethiopia shall be cast out and “scattered like chaff
driven by the desert wind.”. They shall inherit the wind!
Eskinder Nega is not a
hero to one man. He is a heroes’ hero. He is a hero to world renowned journalists who have
themselves suffered at the hands of dictators including Kenneth
Best, founder of the Daily Observer (Liberia’s first independent daily); Lydia
Cacho, one of Mexico’s most famous journalists and noted author; Sir Harold
Evans, editor of The Sunday Times in Britain; Akbar Ganji, Iran’s
foremost dissident; Amira Hass, one of the foremost independent journalists in
Israel; Arun Shourie, one of India’s most renowned journalists and editor of
the English-language daily Indian Express; Faraj Sarkohi, a long time Iranian
writer and journalist persecuted by both the Shah of Iran and the Islamic
Republic of Iran; Adam Michnik, editor in chief of the first independent (and
bestselling) Polish daily foremost dissident and Polish human rights advocate
and so many others. Eskinder is a hero to virtually every respected press and
human rights organization in the world. In his own country, Eskinder is
condemned as a criminal; but Eskinder Nega is an innocent man condemned by a
gang of criminals.
Thus Spoke Eskinder Nega
from Meles Zenawi Prison
It is heartwarming to
read firsthand accounts of Eskinder’s condition in prison. Recent reports of journalists and others who visited him are
encouraging and uplifting. No doubt, prison life for Eskinder
and the other imprisoned journalists, opposition leaders and political
prisoners is unbearably hard. The regime in Ethiopia maintains one of the most
inhumane prison systems in the world. Such was the finding of an expert study commissioned by the
regime itself. Those who personally visited Eskinder and
the young opposition leader Andualem Aragie said both had lost weight but their
spirits were flying high as a kite.
Eskinder’s face radiated with serenity, the
kind Reinhold Neibur talked about – “the grace to accept with serenity the
things that cannot be changed, the courage to change the things which should be
changed and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.” He talked openly
and fearlessly about how to help bring about a better and freer Ethiopia. He
spoke passionately about the sacrifices and the price that must be paid to
establish democracy and the rule of law in Ethiopia. They said Eskinder was at
peace with himself and his circumstances in prison. But I am willing to bet my
bottom dollar that he will always be at war with injustice, hate,
intolerance and unfairness.
Eskinder’s wife, the
incomparable Serkalem Fasil and winner of the prestigious “Courage in
Journalism Award”, was present during one of the visits and listened to
her husband intently as their son Nafkot playfully made his presence known. It
was a distressing sight for the journalists to see Nafkot’s life revolve around
prison. Nafkot was born in prison in 2005 when mom and dad were
imprisoned by Meles Zenawi “only to be acquitted sixteen months
later. Serkalem prematurely gave birth in prison. Severely underweight at birth
because Serkalem’s physical and psychological privation in one of Africa’s
worst prisons, an incubator was deemed life-saving to the new-born child by
prison doctors; which was, in an act of incomprehensible vindictiveness, denied
by the authorities. The child nevertheless survived miraculously.” Such is the
utter inhumanity of those who have persecuted this extraordinary Ethiopian
family for years.
Like any human being
Eskinder feels the loss of association with his wife and son. No doubt, he
misses his friends and supporters throughout the world as much as they miss
him. He told one of his visitors: “I am innocent. I will never ask
for a government pardon. I won’t even think about it. But when I say this, I
don’t mean that I do not miss my wife and son. Not being with them weighs
heavily on my heart. Regardless, it is a high price I must pay for my people.
That is the sacrifice I have to make.” That was exactly what Nelson Mandela
said: “When your life is the struggle, as mine was, there is little room left
for family. That has always been my greatest regret and the most painful aspect
of the choice I made.”
I am confident Eskinder
understands that the destiny of great men is in the hands of history and not
tyrants. Mandela kept his appointment with destiny and emerged victorious from
Robben Island and lifted the darkness that threatened to envelop South Africa.
I have no doubts that Eskinder, Reeyot, Woubshet, Andualem, Olbana, Bekele,
Abubekar, Ahmedin and the many thousands of Ethiopian political prisoners and
the millions of youth will also emerge from Prison Nation Ethiopia victorious.
It is deeply saddening
that Eskinder and the others have been subjected to all forms of humiliation
and degradation in Meles Zenawi Prison. They really tried to break him down,
and force him to his knees and beg for a pardon. They tried solitary
confinement to break his spirit. They subjected him to personal humiliation,
abuse and neglect to crush his unconquerable soul. These petty minded
ignoramuses would not even allow him to get books, a right specially recognized
under Article 40 of the United Nations, Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners, 30 August 1955.) Though Eskinder’s head is
bloodied, it is also unbowed!
Eskinder told the
visiting journalists, “There can be no change without sacrifice. Change comes
through peaceful struggle.” He emphasized the need for peaceful struggle. He
spoke of Kenya, Ghana and Malawi and how fortunate they were in being able to
build democracy without paying too high a price.
He spoke unambiguously
of the need for civility and respect for each other. “Every Ethiopian who
acts for the good of the country should be respected.” When the journalists
told him that he has been dubbed the “Mandela of Ethiopia”, he humbly declined
stating that he did not deserve such honor. But he remained defiant as ever: “I
am sentenced to 18 years. What more can happen to me? I feel bad separated from
my wife and child. The issue is not whether Eskinder is in prison or not, but
how we can see a better and democratic Ethiopia.” He kept on repeating
“Democracy, democracy, democracy…”
Why is Eskinder and the
others still in prison?
There really is no
rational explanation for keeping Eskinder and the rest of the journalists,
opposition leaders and activists in prison. But there are many irrational ones.
The first absurd reason for keeping them in prison is the belief that
releasing them will reflect badly on the name and legacy of the late Meles
Zenawi. Releasing them so soon after Meles death would show that he had
wrongfully imprisoned them.
The fact known to the
whole world is that they are all political prisoners. They have committed no
crimes. Every major human rights organization and other governmental
organizations involved in human rights have come to the same conclusions.
Meles was an angry man,
a vindictive man. As I have often described him when he was alive, Meles opted
for revenge when he could show mercy; depraved indifference when he could show
compassion; intolerance when he could show understanding and impatience when he
could show magnanimity. I shall never forget Meles' sadistic words after he
jailed Birtukan Midekssa in January 2008. “There will never be an agreement
with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.”
Birtukan, like these young prisoners, had done nothing wrong.
It is indeed a dead
issue now. That was how Meles missed his rendezvous with greatness. As long as
these young people remain in prison, they become Meles’ legacy and his name
will be a symbol of shame and infamy. His name will be defiled and profaned,
his character dishonored and his achievements depreciated and deprecated.
Releasing them now would go a long way in rehabilitating his name and
contributions in the eyes of all Ethiopians and court of world opinion. In all
sincerity, is it not time to let Meles rest in peace? Is it not time to release
these prisoners and let them live in peace?
The second absurd reason
for keeping these young people in prison, I believe, comes from a misguided
thinking which equates admitting and correcting mistakes or doing the
right thing as a sign of profound weakness. There is nothing wrong in
admitting mistakes, but there is a lot that is wrong in not correcting them.
“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” When mistakes are not corrected, they
accumulate and fester like a sore. In the end, those who fail to correcte their
mistakes are buried by them. It was an egregious mistake to imprison these
young people; it would be a magnanimous act of redressing a wrong by releasing
them.
The third absurd reason
for keeping these young people in prison flows from ignorant arrogance. I do
not doubt that there are some among those in power who believe might is right.
As long as they have the guns, tanks and planes, they can subjugate the entire
country and remain on top forever. Such a view is logically and factually
flawed. If guns and tanks would have endured eternal power, Mengistu Hailemariam
at the peak of his power had $4 billion worth of it. The reason those who are
now in power today were able to overthrow Mengistu’s regime was not because of
their superior firepower or the refinement of their military strategy. They can
deceive themselves into believing that if they want. The real reason they won
is because the people of Ethiopia had totally and unreservedly rejected the
regime of Mengustu Hailemariam. They had had enough of him, his brutality, his
criminality and his ignorant arrogance. Those who seized power from Mengistu
arrived at a defining moment in Ethiopia’s history. Ethiopians had to make a
choice between a devil they knew and angel lookalikes they did not know. Well
now they know!
The fact of the matter
is that we live in a different world. It is a world that is coming under the
increasing ownership of young people. They are very different from us, the
Hippo Generation. They have different dreams, hopes, aspirations and
priorities. What is important to us is laughably insignificant to them. When we
talk to them about the politics of ethnicity and identity, they look at us as
though we are raving lunatics. They could not care less about the ethnicity,
region, religion or language of their fellow youth. They care about improving their
lives through education and entrepreneurship. They care about the future and do
not want to be bogged down in the quicksand of hatred and ethnic rivalry
we have created for ourselves. We made our beds in our Ethiopia, and we should
lie in them if we must. But we have no right to demand that they lie in the bed
of thorns we have made for ourselves. They won’t!
The other irrefutable
fact is that there is a tidal wave of youth anger and dissatisfaction on the
verge of explosion. In my numerous commentaries in defense of Ethiopia’s
youth, I have alluded to the wind of change that has kicked up a sandstorm of
youth rebellion and revolt in North Africa someday reaching Ethiopia and the
rest of Africa. Ethiopian youth, like Arab youth, are crying out for freedom,
democracy, human rights and equal economic opportunity. The vast majority of
the uneducated, under-educated and mis-educated Ethiopian youth have no hope
for the future. Legions of them with college degrees, advanced professional and
technical training waste away the best years of their lives because they
have few economic opportunities. They see a void in their futures.
I suspect there are many
among those in power who have convinced themselves that the type of volcanic
popular uprisings that swept North Africa cannot happen in Ethiopia. They have
used every means at their disposal to keep the youth benighted, divided and
antagonized. They have tried to prevent Ethiopian youth from accessing the
Internet freely to learn new ideas and create cyber civic societies. They have
tried to buy the loyalty of the best and the brightest of Ethiopia's youth with
cash, jobs, special educational opportunities and privileges. They have tried
to brainwash them into believing that Meles is their demi-god and their savior.
They have used a vast security network of informants, spies and thugs to
suppress any youth or other uprising before it could gather momentum. They have
spread in society so much fear and loathing that it is nearly impossible for
individuals or groups to come together, build consensus and articulate a
unified demand for change. They can fool (buy and sell) some of the youths all
of the time, all of the youths some of the time but it is impossible for
them to fool (buy and sell) all of the youths all of the time.
That is exactly what
Mubarak did in Egypt, Gadhafi in Libya, Ben Ali in Tunisia and Asad in Syria.
The fire that consumed the Middle East was started by the match Bouazizi struck
to immolate himself.
Ethiopia’s Cheetahs
(youth) represent 70 percent of the population. They have a frightening
majority, at least viewed from the perspective of a Hippo. Those in power today
would be foolhardy to calculate that they can abuse, degrade, neglect and
disrespect this majority and expect to remain in perpetual power. Without the
wholehearted support of the youth, the regime is like a tree stuck in a bog
which is swept away at the onset of the first flood.
From time to time, I
have written about the quiet riot that is taking place in Ethiopia. Those in
power today are completely blinded to the quiet riot that is raging in the
hearts and minds of Ethiopia’s youth. In their bottomless greed and corruption,
they have turned blind, deaf and mute to the despair and hopelessness of the
masses of youth who lack of educational, employment and other opportunities for
self-improvement and participation in the development of their country. For a
time, the quiet riot of despair and hopelessness will fester and simmer. But
when hopelessness and despair reaches the boiling point and Ethiopia’s youth
overcome their fear of fear, their winter of discontent will be made glorious
by an inexorable Ethiopian Spring. When that happens, the tables will turn and
the hands that crafted the oppressive laws will be victims of their own hands.
Then they will learn the eternal truth: “For in the same way you judge
others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured
to you.”
The message of a great
freedom fighter for Ethiopians and the message of the “great dictator” for
humanity
The great Charlie
Chaplin in the motion picture the “Great Dictator” gave
a stirring oration for the ages when he declined to be the all powerful
dictator of Tomania:
Even
now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing
men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and
imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say “Do not despair.” The
misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men
who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators
die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so
long as men die, liberty will never perish.”
We
want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t
want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone.
And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be
free and beautiful, but we have lost the way…
Only
the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers! Don’t fight for
slavery! Fight for liberty!
Let
us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a
chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the
promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not
fulfill their promise. They never will!
Dictators
free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfill that
promise! Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To
do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of
reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.
Soldiers,
in the name of democracy, let us all unite!
Our
country Ethiopia is in dire straits. She lies between remaining a united
country and disintegration. Additionally, we her citizens continue to suffer
under oppression. When those African countries that were created through
European colonial machinations and whom we helped birth are today marching to
democracy as we continue our backwards march. It is ironic that we were
at the head of Africa yesterday but today we are Africa’s tail. This is
national shame.
Therefore,
in order to root out this problem, it is necessary for us to conduct a peaceful
struggle. Related to this, the united movement for democracy and justice and
other struggles that are underway by other political parties is very
encouraging. If the struggle continues along as it is doing now and there
is broad participation, there is no doubt that we will be on the road to
freedom. That is why it is necessary for all Ethiopians, regardless of time and
location, should engage in a united struggle.
Do
not be afraid! Do not be intimidated by the threats of tyrants? Fear is the
weapon of tyrants. Reject it! Drive it out of your hearts. To be injured,
jailed and abused is a sacrifice we must pay not to be nationless. We must
struggle to build a better country. Therefore, step up! Step forward! Participate
in peaceful protests.
This
is the time for those in the Diaspora to stand up for their country and show
their good intentions. To support our cause, All Ethiopians in the Diaspora
should participate in protest demonstrations especially the protests that are
going on in Addis Ababa.
I am sure if Eskinder’s
voice could reach the millions of Ethiopia’s youth he’d say, “Do not despair.
The misery that is now upon Ethiopia is but the passing of greed and
corruption, the bitterness of men who fear the truth, men consumed by hatred.
Those who have watered and cultivated hate in Ethiopia will be consumed by it
like a wild fire. Dictators have died. The truth shall live. The power they
stole from the people will return to the people. Do away with kilil barriers!
Do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! And so long as Ethiopians are
imprisoned, tortured and die for their convictions and truth, liberty will
never perish.”
So long as there are
Ethiopians like Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye, Andualem Aragie,
Olbana Lelisa, Bekele Gerba, Abubekar Ahmed, Ahmedin Jebel…, liberty will never
perish in Ethiopia. These young people are held in a “place of wrath and
tears”, a place called Meles Zenawi Prison. There they face the “menace of the
years”, but we "shall find them unafraid". It does not matter how
much physical punishment and psychological pain is inflicted on them, they
shall remain defiant. Why? Because all of them are masters of their fate
and captains of their souls.” Hail Ethiopia’s Youth. Ethiopia Youth Invictus!
Release all political
prisoners in Ethiopia!
Professor Alemayehu G.
Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino
and is a practicing defense lawyer.
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