Coveting Apartheid!?

Coveting Apartheid!?

(Tariku Abas Etenesh)

The greatest crime in a desert is to find water and keep silent about it, reads one African proverb. And I borrow its structure to say, the greatest crime as a government is to be given the opportunity to do great and intentionally settle for the worst. 

The current government of Ethiopia, (for the past 25 years,) has been granted by historical coincidences, some great opportunities fit to truly propel the country into greatness; however, it chose to squander it for the petty act of painting the portrait of grandeur for the ruling elites. These elites, who insist on preaching hatred as a cornerstone for nation building, came to power unwilling to do away with the politics of animosity. And the prescriptive corollary of their investment in hatred is their narcissistic appetite for a singular adulation of self, by self, about self and opposing all different voices.

For the past 25 years, they had the chance to ease the intentional domination of key federal government structures by one ethnic group, but they chose to default. They had the chance to aspire development that espouses the right of the citizen at its core; but intentionally defaulted. They had the chance to aspire development that doesn’t robe the poor of its land for the benefit of the few politically connected; but they defaulted. They had the chance to not soil the name of the ethnic group they falsely claim to represent for their narrow interest of clinging to power; but they defaulted; they had the chance to not populate their prisons with citizens whose only crimes are their inalienable rights of speaking a language of the majority ethnic group, but they defaulted.    

Like all tyranny the world has seen, the Ethiopian tyrants are more than willing to point at colorfully written motto and slogans with the mix of the term development in some fashion, as the answer for the lack of rule of law and respect of the inalienable rights of the citizen. The greatest crime for this government rises out of its utter lack of respect to its own constitution. 

What historical circumstances provided them with the opportunity to bind the country; they chose festering age old wounds among people; they chose complacency with corruption, hatred, mistrust and nepotism. Most disturbing of all, they chose to create a generation of aspiring first-class citizens cuddled with a false sense entitlement to the country because of the language they speak; and created a parallel generation of broken hearts of second-class citizens, terrorized with the nightmare of imprisonment and injustice  because of the language they speak.  

The elite’s action to prolong power through divide-and-rule among the people is too slippery and bound to invite calamity to their own very shaky foundations. This calamity might not be because demonstrations are made and quelled by live fires from military, or it might not be because oppositions who sang nonviolence resistance were thrown to jails; it may not even be because bloggers, journalists, and citizens are labeled as terrorists for the crime of using their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech; it may not even be because the frustrated oppositions took up arms and fought for change; but surly because of the very nature of the elites power base.  A power base that furnished the culture of entitlement for a minority elite’ dominance of the military, the national intelligence, the major business, the airline, the national banks, major key ministerial positions, which is worryingly growing with solid scorn to the diversity of the nation. This scorn could soon implode into an outright ethnic apartheid where the entitlement to the country reserved for the few in order to secure and maintain power, would result in a dangerous saturation point of no return.

For instance, the reason that used to be given for the selective ethnic domination of the military has changed from one that was shy to admitting it to a bold claim of entitlement. The Highest Army chief, last year has made it public that 'military is not about ethnic diversity but about ability' implying that no change would be introduced to change the statuesque. This is a cry for selective entitlement for one ethnic group. Because the statement misses the question by great margins because a country that claims to have a constitution ratified by all ethnic groups, would be against the constitution to have 99% percent of its military to official from just one ethnic group. the same entitlement of controlling and claiming why not is encroaching in various sectors pushing the country to a cliff  of intolerance. The country deserves more fro the ruling elites who want to rule with a eleventh century mentality.

However, it is never too late to cherish love, to honor reconciliation and to start healing; it is never too late to teach tolerance in place of hatred; never too late to renounce the old rhetoric that 'only we -the elite- from certain ethnicity' know what is best for the country; especially, it never too late to start building a nation where what your child speaks constitutes just diversity not adversity, constitutes beauty not a recipe for brutality.      

The greatest crime for any 'government' is to squander opportunities to do great for human solidarity but intentionally settle for the worst end of narrow ethnicity. 

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TAE