Ethiopian Review

By Hanna Kebede

Few of Africa’s authoritarian governments, like Ethiopia’s, were previously bastions of liberty. The country has a long history of repression and rebellion. But critics contend that many of Africa’s former-guerrilla-fighters-turned-leaders are growing steadily more repressive as their terms stretch from years into decades. Ethiopia’s prime minister, Meles Zanawi has led the country for 19 years.

Diplomats, human rights groups and witnesses say the Ethiopian government is methodically
Since early March, two opposition activists and one candidate have been killed. Witnesses and some Western diplomats say the victims were singled out because they were outspoken opponents of the governing party.

The Ethiopian government says that the killings were common crimes, not assassinations, on April 13, 2010, dictator Meles Zenawi issued a thinly veiled threat to Ethiopian opposition leaders that he will hunt them out of their hiding places and burn them at the stake if they boycotted the May, 2010 “election”, or agitate the youth for political action.

The most brutish of leaders the world has ever seen is to believe that Meles is their problem and theirs only. Meles Zenawi is a problem for all peace loving people in the Horn of Africa, East Africa, parts of the Middle East and the African continent.

One of the biggest mistake Ethiopians could make in the fight against one of the most brutish of leaders the world has ever seen is to believe that Meles is their problem and theirs only. Meles Zenawi is a problem for all peace loving people in the Horn of Africa, East Africa, parts of the Middle East and the African continent.

Clearly, Meles Zenawi remains the primarily problem of Ethiopia; and naturally, Ethiopians have to take leadership. However, it is imperative to put the case of Meles Zenawi Humanitarian: Meles Zenawi epitomizes cruelty. The Human Rights Watch, an organization that promotes US agendas globally showed detailed graphic pictures of torched villages by Meles’s soldiers in the Ogaden and accused his regime of crimes on humanity. Meles torched villages and killed thousands in Gambela.

He has no credibility as a human being. He lies to Ethiopians, the region and the world unashamedly. He lied to Ethiopians when he told them he won 99.6% of their vote after they repeatedly rejected him.

Meles Zenawi is not as smart as he likes to appear because his greed and insatiable appetite for power has lead him into making stupid strategic moves that make his regime vulnerable.

The struggle of Birtukan Midekesa

re-arrest and jail Birtukan Midekksa, the first female leader of a political party in Ethiopia’s history in December 2009. Zenawi fabricated the most absurd and ridiculous charge one can possibly imagine as a pretext to knock her out of the running in the May 2010 election. He said she had denied receiving a pardon in July,

The fact is that Birtukan had never denied receiving a pardon. her last public statement issued a couple of days before her street side abduction, she made full acknowledgment of receiving a pardon by signing an official document to that effect.

(The writer resides in Switzerland.)