IDEA Editorial

6/23/2007

Granting Freedom to Political Prisoners is a Step in the Right Direction

At Long last the Ethiopian government has decided to grant freedom to political prisoners, and we at IDEA say this is a step in the right direction. We have pleaded to the Government several times to pardon and release the prisoners, and that the Government now decided to set them free, we would like to use this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Ethiopian authorities.

Most of the prisoners at Kaliti are behind bars as a result of the controversial Ethiopian elections that resulted in turmoil and conflagration and subsequent imprisonment of the opposition, not to mention the other professionals who are also incarcerated for different charges. Although this unfortunate end result of the election was quite astounding, it is not at all surprising given the lack of democratic tradition and tolerance in the Ethiopian society. In point of fact, Ethiopia has been in a roller-coaster ride of transition for more than three decades now, and it seems there is no end in sight. The Ethiopian social and political systems were unable to find the delicate balance in the political process and the latter was increasingly characterized by confrontation and violence. Again, this is not surprising because the Ethiopian social milieu as a whole and its attendant political culture lack openness and diversity. The political culture in Ethiopia is, in a word, obstructionist and not permissive.

In such kind of political atmosphere and the vicissitudes of national conjuncture, it is exceedingly difficult for the opposition to sustain alternative politics; and for the political regime to govern and translate development agenda into action. However, it is the government that is expected to create a conducive political climate and accommodate the opposition as well as  allow citizens to exercise broad democratic rights. For this apparent reason, we like to encourage the Ethiopian Government to launch peaceful plans as opposed to aggressive actions against the opposition. The Government also should seriously reconsider the death penalty that has been decided by the Court against some members of the opposition, and on the contrary grant freedom to those who would face capital punishment. Death penalty, even as a trendy concept is not only archaic and backward, but it is also cruel, barbaric and unusual punishment. Above all, it could wreak havoc to our integrity, morality, and sense of nationhood. Moreover, the Ethiopian society had already been traumatized by excessive killings under the Derg (the military regime of Mengistu Hailemariam) and we should be able to say ’enough is enough’!

We at IDEA do not pretend to act as strategic peace brokers between the Ethiopian Government and the opposition, but we wish peace and development (two faces of the same coin) to prosper in Ethiopia. The Government and the Opposition, therefore,  must find ways and means to negotiate their interests and differences via dialogue and civil discourse without resorting to antagonism and coercion. Both groups must understand that in any political process the interests of political groups are accompanied, almost always, by internally generated impulses that could either be contained or go out of hand. In any event, both the opposition and the Government are responsible for developing creative individual niches to systematically control impulses. It is difficult to measure and quantify human derive with precise empirical connotation, but we believe that a matured leadership (from the Government and the Opposition) could effect distinctive changes in their behavior and enable (empower) themselves to control excesses in the larger society.

As has been clearly stated above, in order to limit the scope of analysis, I have deliberately focused on the case of the political prisoners and as I have argued elsewhere, the Ethiopian Millennium Celebration could become meaningful only if the political prisoners are pardoned and released, and of course death penalty should be completely out of question.

Peace and Best Regards to Ethiopia and the Ethiopian People

On behalf of IDEA, Inc.