Ethiopia: Meles’s compassion supplements his great legacy
June 22, 2007 — The current situation of the convicted prisoners is looking hopeful due to the various ongoing discussions and the work of elders. Despite the judiciary finding the 38 opposition members guilty, even the EPRDF ruling party supporters wished to see the convicted people set free, because reconciliation is the only way forward. Convicting the architects of the violent riots which the U.S. state department also called an attempt “to overthrow the government” would have been an easy way out of the mess but it would have left a bitter taste in people’ mouth. It would have left out a residue that would be the exclamation point of the CUD party collapse.
As everyone knows, the CUD/Kinijit party is divided into many small parts already. Some are divided because of corruption; others were divided because factions decided to join the ONLF/AFD terrorist coalition that already claimed the lives of 74 Ethiopians & Chinese. The CUD, which is equally responsible for the massacre of innocent people as they slept in that famous oil field disaster, has staunchly supported the attack. But ironically another CUD group in Ethiopian parliament condemned the attack. How can that be? Which group is the real CUD? The number of CUD factions is endless. Last but not listed the CUD faction in Kaliti prison makes up the last of the various disunited CUD factions that already made the party completely ungovernable.
Unfortunately all of this numerous breakups occurred after the colossal 2005 breakup of the UEDP-Medhin party from CUD. Ironically, the UEDP-Medhin won most of the votes in Addis Ababa compared to other sub-parties in the CUD, while the others won the most votes in the regions like Amhara State. Before the conviction, this was the sad story, the unfortunate tale of the uncontrollable dissection of the party. Even now, it is hard to give a press release because people always accuse each other for illegitimate press releases that don’t represent CUD.
With the lack of leadership and accountability, it was not a surprise thus that the party that made around 2 million Addis Ababa citizens demonstrate, was not able to do that again anymore. After the CUD imprisonments, the CUD supporters in Addis Ababa shouted and protested against Meles Zenawi twice and in a sign of maturity, they did all of this demonstration peacefully and professionally. But after almost 2 years, the people now feel like there is no direction & guidance. Gradually, feeling the deep lack of leadership, almost nobody went out to protest. The people showed they are brave by protesting many times even after the violence. But the divided leaders showed the people that they were not ready to lead and since then demonstrations, unmotivated, ended. Now with the conviction, things got even more hopeless to the supporters of CUD. Even EPRDF supporters started to feel bad and with lack of energetic opposition, politics became dull. Even Meles Zenawi, the great revolutionary democrat who made Ethiopia (according to International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.)) the fastest growing non-Oil dependent economy in Africa couldn’t save them.
But all of the sudden, when nobody expected, Meles Zenawi came for the rescue. Even when EPRDF officials said don’t give concession to the convicted, according to Washington Post, Meles Zenawi generously decided to provide them an executive pardon. The man that brought democracy to Ethiopia, the man that won numerous awards from World Peace Prize to Yara Prize and the man that helped bring the first multi-party parliament in Ethiopian history once again showed that he can step up above the challenge and deliver. As the lively parliament debates; as the bills passed and even as with votes that saw opposition parties challenge & oppose each other in addition to against ruling party showed, democracy in Ethiopia appears to develop faster than even the democracy under the American founding fathers. And the economic successes were supplemented by great news in which IMF said the recent achievements “significantly contributed to poverty reduction and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG.)” But It seems like it is not just democracy and economic development, but it is also compassion and tolerance that Meles brought to the Ethiopian political arena. Let the convicted leaders see light for the first time, they surely deserve it, deserve the compassion. Along with the young parliament members, all of these are our future leaders. Leaders of a great and hopeful nation.
Contact: EADP Ethiopia [email protected]