Coveting Apartheid!?

Coveting Apartheid!?

By Tariku Abas Etenesh

An African proverb says, “The greatest crime in a desert is to find water and keep silent about it.” I borrow its structure to say: the greatest crime a government can commit is to be given the opportunity to do great—and intentionally settle for the worst.

For the past 25 years, the government of Ethiopia has been granted, by historical coincidence, rare opportunities to propel the country toward greatness. Yet it has chosen to squander them for the petty purpose of painting a portrait of grandeur for the ruling elite. These elites, who preach hatred as a foundation for nation-building, came to power without any intention of abandoning the politics of animosity. The inevitable result of their investment in hate has been a narcissistic appetite for adulation—of self, by self, and about self—while silencing all opposing voices.

Over the years, they had the opportunity to undo the deliberate domination of key federal structures by a single ethnic group, but they defaulted. They had the chance to pursue a model of development centered on the rights of citizens—but they intentionally chose not to. They could have pursued progress without robbing the poor of their land to benefit the politically connected—but again, they defaulted. They had the chance not to soil the name of the ethnic group they falsely claim to represent for the narrow interest of clinging to power—but they defaulted. They even had the chance to avoid filling prisons with citizens whose only “crime” was speaking the language of the majority ethnic group—but they defaulted.

Like tyrants throughout history, Ethiopia’s ruling elite point to colorful mottos and slogans—often featuring the word “development”—as answers to demands for the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights. But their greatest crime lies in their utter disregard for their own constitution.

Instead of using historical opportunities to unify the country, they chose to inflame ancient wounds. They opted for complacency in the face of corruption, hatred, mistrust, and nepotism. Most disturbing of all, they created a generation of first-class citizens, nurtured with a false sense of entitlement simply for speaking a certain language, while simultaneously creating a parallel generation of broken hearts—second-class citizens terrorized by the fear of imprisonment and injustice for the same reason.

The ruling elite’s strategy of divide-and-rule is both slippery and suicidal, threatening the very foundations on which their fragile power rests. This looming calamity may not erupt solely because peaceful protests are crushed with live bullets, or because opposition figures preaching nonviolence are jailed. It may not even arise because journalists, bloggers, and everyday citizens are branded as terrorists for exercising their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech. Nor will it necessarily stem from frustrated opposition forces taking up arms. Rather, the collapse may come from the very structure of the regime’s power base: a base built on the entitlement of a minority elite dominating the military, intelligence services, major industries, airlines, national banks, and key ministerial positions—while displaying open contempt for the nation's diversity.

Such contempt is rapidly moving the country toward a dangerous form of ethnic apartheid, in which entitlement to the nation is reserved for a few. This trajectory risks reaching a point of no return.

Take, for example, the evolving justification for ethnic domination of the military. Once denied, it is now boldly asserted. Just last year, the top army chief stated publicly, “The military is not about ethnic diversity, but about ability,” implying that no change to the status quo is necessary. This is a veiled cry for selective entitlement. But the argument misses the point entirely. In a country with a constitution ratified by all ethnic groups, it is unconstitutional—and unjust—for 99% of military leadership to come from one ethnic group. This same logic of “why not us?” is spreading across sectors, pushing the nation toward the precipice of intolerance. The country deserves more than leaders who rule with a medieval mindset.

And yet—it is never too late.
Never too late to choose love over hate.
Never too late to pursue reconciliation and healing.
Never too late to teach tolerance instead of animosity.
Never too late to renounce the tired rhetoric that only “we”—the elite from a specific ethnicity—know what is best for the country.
Most of all, it is never too late to build a nation where a child’s mother tongue is not a curse, but a blessing—where it represents diversity, not adversity; beauty, not brutality.

The greatest crime any government can commit is to squander the opportunity to foster human solidarity—and instead choose the darkest path of narrow ethnic exclusion.