Rule of Law: Undermined by the Ethiopian “Leader”
Sophia Tesfamariam*
April 21, 2006 — The spoilt child of the West and leader of the Tigrayan clique in Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, after plunging Ethiopia into chaos and turmoil by stealing and rigging the May 2005 elections, massacring over 100 people in one month, detaining over 40,000 innocent Ethiopians across the country for voting him out of office, and after detaining all of the opposition leaders and charging them with “treason” and “genocide” for asking for justice, respect for the rule of law, for calling for a peaceful demonstration and resignation of the Meles regime has all of a sudden become the advocate and defender of the rule of law.
Consistent with his street smart, flip flopping, condescending attitude, when the entire world (with the exception of his handlers and lobbyists) knows that he is ruling Ethiopians with an iron fist, and Ethiopia is under siege, Meles is shamelessly presenting himself and his Tigrayan clique as a law abiding government. In the BBC interview on 10 April 2006, attempting to present his genocidal, illegitimate and vote-rigging regime as a law-abiding bunch, Meles said:
“…We have reaffirmed our commitment to the rule of law, which means that we as a government also play by the rules. And if there are…issues on our side or in their side [oppostion] whoever violated that has to be brought before a proper judicial process…”
Meles Zenawi who reneged on his treaty obligations and violated international law by rejecting the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission’s Final and Binding decision, and who in violation of numerous Security Council resolutions and decisions, has refused to allow the EEBC to fulfill its mandate to demarcate the Eritrea Ethiopia border, and who is occupying sovereign Eritrean territories in violation of the UN Charter, should be the last person on this earth, to make loud proclamations about respecting the rule of law. But this is typical of the erratic, irrational and shameless Meles! With the exception of his handlers and million dollars a month lobbyists, everyone knows that Meles Zenawi rules Ethiopia not by the rule of law, but rather by the law of the jungle and vengeance.
Meles is like a mirage; now you see him… now you don’t.
When he talks about the Eritrea Ethiopia Border Commission’s (EEBC) Final and Binding decision, he rejects the rule of law and requests for amendments and “dialogue”.
When he talks about the legitimate request of the Ethiopian people and their leaders to respect their choice and the rule of law, he invokes his own interpretations of the rule of law and constitutionality.
The deceptive, flip flopping genocidal Prime Minister of the TPLF regime in Addis cannot have it both ways-either he is for the rule of law or he is for the law of the jungle.
In both cases, in the May 2005 elections in Ethiopia and in the 13 April 2002 Final and Binding decision of the Eritrea Ethiopia Border Commission, I have no doubt and the record is clear, that he is on the side of the law of the jungle!
Meles as well as his handlers and lobbyists, should heed the distinguished scholar Robert F. Turner’s advice on respecting the rule of law. Turner an associate director of the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia School Of Law and a former Stockton Professor of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College says:
“…Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties recognizes the fundamental and historic principle of pacta sunt servanda: “Every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith…I cannot understand why some people who call themselves “conservatives” seem determined to reject the rule of law in international affairs. If we undermine this principle, and assert instead a right to pick and choose which of our treaty commitments are convenient from day to day, then by the doctrine of reciprocity we will be affirming a similar right for others to ignore inconvenient laws. We will no longer be able to say that blatant international aggression, terrorism or even the use of chemical or biological weapons against our citizens, are illegal…America must remain strong, vigilant and determined to act — multilaterally when possible, unilaterally when necessary – to uphold our fundamental rights and values. But one of the things we ought to be fighting most strongly to defend is the rule of law…”
The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle!
* Sophia Tesfamariam is from the US Foundation for the Horn of Africa. She can be reached at [email protected]