Europe policy of promoting African dictatorships
An EU that received baptism of the highest order
By Aie Zi Guo,
Nov 21, 2006 — As always I fail to understand the type of language that sinks into the mind of diplomats. Against this
suspicion please allow me to be straight forward. Writing course language has not been my inner self.
However, appeasing the European Union (EU) is being hypocritical, hence my deliberate choice to write this
harsh note. Nevertheless bound by the curtsey of civilization, I apologize in advance.
Fifty years ago and following the Auschwitz massacre, your community made a collective promise to defend
democracy, human right and the rule of law in our planet. It is this community that decided to protect
humanity from tyranny. It is this community that formulated international conventions and bill of rights. It is
this community that colonized Africans, exploited Africa’s resources and tried to introduce western
democracy. Cognizant that the community would be bound by its faith and principles, Africans believed that
the EU will stand behind their quest for freedom. As good disciples many worked tirelessly to advance the
cause of freedom and solicited the community’s multifaceted support. In the process thousand sacrificed
their lives and millions were exposed to torture and abuse by antidemocratic forces. Even sinister African
Dictators echoed the political jargons of EU and other western powers to make incalculable misery to their
people through torture, genocide and ethnic and religious conflicts. In the end neither democracy nor
development was achieved. Africa’s effort to bring democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights
has been an abysmal failure.
In many ways EU has contributed to the failure and to the shameful state in which Africa is in now. The
causes of the failure, among others, emanates from the double standard policies pursued by EU and its
member states. For example this community remained a sleeping giant while genocide, miscarriage of
justice, abuse of power and torture took place at the doorsteps of its embassies. It is EU in tandem with the
like minded leaders from North America that nourished tyrants with the means to ascend and cling to power.
Aid and loan money has been channeled to dictators through bogus financial institutions of the IMF, WB,
and UN. EU monies ‘be it budgetary or humanitarian support’ is used to buy guns and not butters to
suppress democracy and abuse human rights.
What is even surprising is that EU in Brussels watched the madness of dictators with utter indifference and
diplomatic jargons of restrain and containment. It is this community that shakes hands and toss diplomatic
champagne with African dictators on the virtue of containment. It is this community that permitted African
dictators to sit shoulder to shoulder with its diplomats and parliamentarians at EU sponsored conferences to
discuss issues of human rights, sustainable development, terrorism, peace and stability. EU diplomacy
seemed devoid of a moral benchmark when attending receptions and tossed friendship champagnes with
tyrants. Is it not this type of negligence and double standard policy that emboldened the minds of dictators?
Yes, it is this community that gave dictators a moral and physical comfort to continue the act of tyranny. For
innocent Africans it is inconceivable to see a progressive institution ‘EU’ contributing to the proliferation of
new breeds of dictators like Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, Mouseveni of Uganda and Issayas of Eritrea. It is
also difficult to see how EU support the creation of banana states that are breeding grounds of terrorism.
No doubt this double standard policy of the international community has given dictators a free ride to
castrate democracy, and abuse human rights. Now the ghost of dictators does not only haunt the children of
Africa but also has become a scarecrow for your children in Europe. So long as this community follows a
diplomacy that appeases dictators, its enemies will continue to proliferate in numbers. A new
addition to this is the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Somalia.
Against this background no wonder if millions of Ethiopians continue being baffled by the hypocrisy of this
august community. It is no surprise if many find it difficult to count the EU as guardians of democracy and
human rights. Ethiopians continue to wonder how and when EU member states who expose the atrocities
and human rights abuses of dictators through their annual human rights reports would take concrete steps
to standup against tyranny. After the May 2005 election many Ethiopians believed that the leaders of the EU
would listen to Anna Gomez. On the contrary the EU shocked millions of Ethiopians by inviting Meles
Zenawi to Brussels to lecture this grandiose community on good governance on November 17, 2006. The
invitation is testimony to EU’s deliberate negligence to human rights and democracy in Ethiopia. This is an
insult to the millions of democracy loving Ethiopians that aught to be condemned and not condoned. There
should be no diplomatic and moral generosity of complacence to dictators.
Amidst all these Ethiopian’s hope for change is kept alive by the principled stand of EU parliamentarians
including Anna Gomes et el. No doubt this gives the enthusiasm to struggle against tyranny. Sooner or later
freedom will come and Anna Gomes will celebrate the triumph of democracy with Ethiopians. Those who
joked on democracy with double standard diplomacy will be humiliated like a disgraced dictator. Therefore, it
is incumbent on the EU to act in accordance with its charter which is based on the universality and
indivisibility of human rights and the responsibility for their protection and promotion, together with the
promotion of pluralistic democracy and effective guarantees for the rule of law. It is time to listen to Anna
Gomez’s recommendations to do some serious business of disaster prevention in Ethiopia.
In a final note we owe congratulations to the EU for receiving the best lecture of good governance from
those who do not govern but rule by the rule of the gun. Ethiopians and the rest of Africans are sure that
Meles and other African leaders have succeeded in convincing you with their new paradigm that
“Democracy cannot be imposed from the outside”. This statement is a copycat slogan from the recently
concluded Sino-African summit in Beijing. China has reassured African leaders that she will dance with any
African leader as long as they do business with Asia’s rising tiger. Through their lectures, African dictators
have made it clear that EU’s unprincipled rhetoric of democracy, human rights and rule of law has no place
in Africa. It is also an indication that those dictators whom you tried to appease for over 50 years are having
a super power that will help them in their own terms. Africa is gradually slipping out of the influence of your
community. They believe that the international power and diplomatic alliance long held with Europe is
starting to tilt to the Red East. Before this take root it is time to revisit your policy towards Ethiopia in
particular and Africa in general. The time is now to choose either to be on the side of the people or be
against the people of Ethiopia and the people of Africa in general.
Finally it is believed that Meles and other African leaders have given the community ‘wonderful’ lectures on
governance. EU conference participants must have received baptism of the highest order from the
holy water of dictatorship . Nevertheless, Ethiopians pray that your community frees itself from
condescending behaviors, hypocrisy and double standard diplomatic whitewash. For God’s sake show your
guardianship of democracy, human rights and rule of law today. Tomorrow is too late to everyone.
* The author is an economist who is interested on international affairs particularly on Ethiopia. He resides in Canada. He can be reached at [email protected]