‘Migration of Beauty’ Exposes Risk of Ethiopian Descent Into Tyranny
by David Calleja
June 3, 2009
A victim of the Ethiopian government's repression during the 2005 elections (AP)
In May 2005, the ruling Ethiopian Revolutionary Patriot’s Democratic Front won elections amid allegations of electoral fraud and a campaign of intimidation against opposition groups. Six months and two protests later, nearly 200 civilians were killed and tens of thousands arrested, including high profile opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa. The former judge and popular politician was initially jailed for life, then pardoned, and then commanded to serve out the rest of her sentence.
Next year, Ethiopians will go to the polls again, and the political maneuvering is already underway. Last week, the Sudan Tribune reported on the Meles Zenawi government claims of an alleged coup plot masterminded by former opposition leader Behanu Nega, now an academic in the United States of America. And on May 27, the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) had their permit application for a protest against the Zenawi government in Addis Ababa’s Meksel Square rejected by the city’s administration. A spokesman for the UDJ, Hailu Araya, was quoted as saying the government continued to play political games, thus weakening the UDJ’s effectiveness in the country.
Ethiopia is an important ally for the United States. Its strategic location near the Horn of Africa makes the country key to Barack Obama’s attempts to win the War On Terror.
Director of 'Migration of Beauty' Chris Flaherty (Photo courtesy of Chris Flaherty)
Against the backdrop of the 2010 election, the documentary Migration of Beauty is due for release on the international film festival circuit. Directed by Chris Flaherty, the film recalls the experiences of Ethiopian genocide survivors of the 1970s and the community activism led by the Ethiopian diaspora in Washington D.C. in the run-up to the 2005 election. Flaherty spent two years researching and befriending the witnesses involved in the historic event covered in the film. Migration of Beauty has screened at the AFI Institute in Maryland and Goeth-Institute in Washington D.C.
The Ethiopian government has sent a chilling message to all opposition groups by declaring that it will achieve peace at all costs, a clear reference to the crackdown on protests that tainted the election four years ago that also revives haunting memories of the Dergue’s massacre of students and other civilians in the 1970s. Although the country is not officially a one-party state, the signs of political intimidation risk leading the nation along the path of Burma and Zimbabwe into tyranny.
Chris Flaherty spoke with David Calleja in an interview for Foreign Policy Journal about what could be in store for sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous country.
Four years after the violence that occurred in the aftermath of Ethiopia’s general elections, what news do you have of the mood in the country, and how do you think this will affect the lead-up to the 2010 poll?
Obviously I have been keeping track of recent events as they relate to the upcoming Parliamentary election in Ethiopia. I would have to say that at this point it looks pretty grim. I think the party in power has been doing a good job at intimidating any possibility of viable opposition against themselves in 2010. With the re-arrest of one of Ethiopia’s strongest opposition leaders, Birtukan Mideksa and the recent announcement by the Ethiopian government that they have launched an investigation against people suspected of overthrowing the government, the prospects look grimmer by the day. From what I have observed many Ethiopians appear to be slipping into a feeling of helplessness. Many are saying, “Here we go again, this government will stop at nothing to retain power.” The biggest fear for me is that Ethiopians will simply give up and accept what happens no matter how illegitimate the outcome.
What factors compelled you to make your documentary Migration of Beauty? Why did you feel that it was necessary to tell people what happened in the 1970s under The Dergue as a prelude to the 2005 elections?
Perhaps the biggest factor that helped me mold the idea for Migration of Beauty was the inspiration I experienced from documenting seemingly powerless immigrants from a third world country engaging the U.S. political process. During the filming I was able to better understand the conditions that drove many of them to zealously fight for ideas that most ordinary Americans take for granted. My approach was to tell their deeply personal human stories about struggling for freedom and dying for it. Some of the people in the film lived through one of the most horrific chapters of Ethiopian history, the “Dergue” period or the “Red Terror”.
By bringing their stories to light I was trying to make clear that it doesn’t matter who takes away your freedom as much as it is criminal for anyone to do such a thing. If your freedom has been taken away the end result is always the same no matter who takes it away, whether it’s Adolf Hitler, Mao Tse-Tung, Mengistu Haile Mariam or Meles Zenawi. And while the current Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, has not committed acts as open and obvious as his predecessor Mengistu Haile Mariam, he is still repressing democratic ideas and has committed numerous human rights abuses. It was important for the Ethiopian Americans in Migration of Beauty to connect both stories. They have seen it all before.
There were some moments in the documentary in which you were prevented from filming. Who was behind the threats and what level of intimidation did they offer to the crew or yourself?
I did B-roll filming in Ethiopia directly after the 2005 election massacres. There was a certain tension in the streets. Foreign journalist and filmmakers are highly suspect in the eyes of the Ethiopian government. The Ethiopian government has a long history of repressing the media so I expected I might run into problems. There were two instances where I and my Director of Photography were stopped by the police. The first time I managed to talk my way out of potential arrest by speaking in Amharic and smoothing my way out of the situation. The second time it was the Ethiopian Army that tried to stop us. I quickly discovered that they did not speak Amharic, therefore my language skills yielded no results. I could not understand what they were saying but it was obvious they wanted the video camera. My DP and I simply took off running. For whatever reason they stopped following us and we lost them. We quickly realized that we had to keep our equipment “under the radar” and out of sight. I have heard of worse stories involving intense harassment and arrest of video camera operators. There is one such instance documented in my film.
Birtukan Mideksa (Photo by Chris Flaherty)
Last year, the opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa was jailed for life. According to a Voice of America report, Prime Minster Meles Zenawi government’s official line was that “she had not asked for the pardon” handed to her. What do you think is the real reason for the order to serve out her life sentence? What does Meles Zenawi have to fear from her?
The situation of jailed dissident Birtukan Mideksa is a very interesting one. The former District Judge represented the biggest threat to the party currently in power, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). And while she was jailed for what would appear to be rather “convenient” technical reasons it’s obvious to me that she was put away because there was a good possibility she would beat the EPRDF in a fair election. Considering what happened in 2005 the ruling party appears not to be taking any chance of losing a national election. This is an old story and a proven formula: intimidate, jail and kill all of your viable opponents in order to keep power. No matter how proper and clean everything appears on the surface it’s all the same.
David Calleja graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science and Master of Social Science from RMIT University in his home city of Melbourne, Australia. He has taught English in China, Thailand, South Korea and Cambodia, where he worked for a local NGO, Sorya, based in Tropang Sdok village. In addition he has also volunteered as a kindergarten English teacher, tutor and a football coach to male orphan students in Loi Tailang, Shan State. He has narrated and produced a video biography of Cambodian students learning English entitled I Like My English Grilled. His video documenting life at Stung Meanchey, Cambodia, A Garbage Life, can be viewed online. Contact him at david_calleja@foreignpolicyjournal.com. Read more articles by David Calleja.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
David,
Thanks for this piece. It it people like Vicki Huddlestone who have been rooting for the minority regime in Ethiopia and misleading the American public. Here is a quote from Huddlestone’s op-ed in NY [Nov.15, 2007]
“Ethiopia has already freed opposition leaders, reformed parliamentary rules to give opposition parties greater legislative responsibility and approved a new media law that meets international standards. By singling out Ethiopia for public embarrassment, the bill puts Congress unwittingly on the side of Islamic jihadists and insurgents.
A far better approach would be to buttress Ethiopia against threats to its survival — by helping it resolve its border conflict and ensuring that it reopens negotiations with insurgents and traditional leaders and permits international investigation of reported military abuses (including allegations of rape and murder). Ethiopia has begun this process by allowing the United Nations and humanitarian aid agencies to assist civilians in the Ogaden. ”
I hope Obama Administration would recognize the disservice of such individuals early on and assign ones that are less ideological and able to think outside the box.
It’s time someone finally stood up aganist Ethiopia’s corrupt government. I hope his film sheds more light on the government’s corrupt cover-up in human rights abuses.
It is good that independent film makers such as Chris Flaherty are interested in Ethiopia’s past and present. However, his comments in the interview indicate that his source of information is one-sided and one dimensional. I do not question his motives or intentions for I do not have the basis to do so. However, it is always good to seek sources from both sides of any conflict. How can one expect to have a balanced view if he is advancing only one side of a story/history?
I am not a big fan of the current Ethiopian regime and I see many things that could be better handled. However, this talk about the government being similar to the dictators of Burma is not consistent with facts. The killings of post-election 2005 are not justifiable by any means and no matter who might have a role in instigating such a disaster, the government in power will always have to take responsibility since these people were killed by its men. But the situation in Ethiopia is a whole lot more complicated than appears to the uninformed observer. There are ethnic hatreds on both sides – especially those in the opposition that accuse the government about such things. You don’t have to believe me. Just browse the opposition blogs and forums for 15 minutes and you can see that such hatred is spewed openly and repeatedly. How can one accuse the government of ethnic hatred and vehemently practice it themselves? I dread to think about what these folks will do if they had power.
Ethnic federalism is not a crime. Several other democratic countries practice it and one may arguably say that it is not illogical to believe that this form of government actually made sense to keep the peace in Ethiopia after Mengistu’s regime. Let’s even say it is not good for Ethiopia. But who decides that? Have anyone ever asked Ethiopians from under-represented ethnic groups (that together constitute a significant block) who were always under the foot of the majority or are we only basing our opinion by the cries of those Ethiopians who happened to be from the ruling ethnic groups in Ethiopia’s recent past (during the reigns of Emperors Hailesellassie, Zewditu, and Menilik)? Ethiopia’s dilemma is partly this ethnic power struggle among the larger ethnic groups and outsiders that are misinformed or with ulterior agendas fuel such problems for the worse (unwittingly or otherwise). Partly it is a struggle for economic deliverance. Partly it is a misguided fantasy by “lost in translation” diaspora that are neither here nor there.
Those that accept and tolerate deplorable living conditions for Ethiopians (saying under the circumstance of the country it is acceptable) expect first-world democracy to magically appear in a country still struggling to feed its citizens.
It is sad that we never give time to fully understand situations in poor countries but prescribe “solutions” with potentially disastrous results.
A genuine opposition is always good to keep in check those in power. However, what Ethiopia needs even more are more doctors, more engineers, more teachers. No matter who is in power, such “heroes” can make a difference in the lives of Ethiopians and their contributions to their country (former country, fellow human beings) will be greater than the misguided advocacy on the streets of Washington, the halls of congress, or the pages of New York Times.
Instant opposition “leaders” are not what the country needs. Remember that most of the current regime’s leaders fought Mengistu for 17 years. That doesn’t by itself justify their ascent to power and staying in power. But they seem to have been more dedicated to their cause than most of the opposition. Just do a good research on most of the “opposition leaders” of the last election and see what they were doing just a couple of years before the election and now after the election and you will find out that many of them may have been in the election to ride the wave of popular discontent into their own power.
Ethiopians should be able to advance opposition politics without seeking a zero-sum political game. And Westerners should give Africans the respect they deserve and allow them to be respectful of each other. This prodding to demonize anyone with whom we do not agree is not helpful. We can have vigorous debates and even political confrontations but don’t expect us to fight to death every time we have political differences. Surely, that is not what you expect for your country and its politicians.
In every political showdown in the West, comments (just comments) of politicians that are deemed below the belt are categorically rejected by all (the press, the populous, and one’s own party members). Why do we then advocate and promote bitterness and vileness when it comes to the politics of developing countries? I am not even touching the fact that no foreigner will be allowed to “interfere” in anyway in the politics of a Western nation.
Michael, the last commenter, has delivered the classic government response. He starts by admitting that he is not sympathizer of the current government. He approves the writer’s [Ethiopian Descent into Tyranny] “good intentions” BUT goes on to criticize that it is one-sided. Foreigners, he suggests, are not capable of analyzing such a complex “internal” matters.
He fails to tell us that it does not take a rocket science to conclude a stolen election is wrong and unconstitutional no matter how look at it or that for an ethnic minority to remain in power for 18 years is no help in democracy building.
Michael admits that the 2005 elections were not fair nor was the killing of nearly 200 unarmed protestors. He does not, however, tell us why the government having been implicated by the result of an investigation had not taken any action yet! He rather deceptively puts the blame on all parties.
No matter how much he tried Michael miserably failed to hide his true color. Read this: I quote, “A genuine opposition is always good to keep in check those in power. However, what Ethiopia needs even more are more doctors, more engineers, more teachers. No matter who is in power…” [end quote]
He concludes by requesting that “foreigners” not “interfere” with his party’s politics [just as those "foreigners" would not allow interference from outsiders.] In other words, no one should talk about democracy and human rights as universal principles that need to be nurtured and guarded. Michael wants to build a world divorced from reality. Just read his comments to see how much he himself meddles in the politics of the West!
I agree with M. The comment Michael posted sounds like the same old tired lines coming from the Ethiopian government. Michael makes the statement that the Opposition is always mired in tribal politics. I have been to Ethiopia a few times and am well read on the tribal history there. It just blows my mind how one particular tribe which represents less than 20% of the entire national population controls the base of government power. It’s no wonder many of the other tribes are frustrated. Flahertry got it right. Ethiopia despratley needs a sense of national identity to bring them together as ETHIOPIANS not Amharas, Tigryey’s, Oromo’s or anything else. Ethnic Federalism only keeps everyone apart much to the benefit of the ruling party. Like Burma, the Ethiopian government is revealing their fear of their own people. They are afraid of democracy because they know it would be the end of tribal rule as they know it. And as Flaherty said- they will kill their own people to stay in power just like Burma. Ruling by the gun is the same no matter how you slice it. With democracy it’s government for the people by the people- no bull. I dont think michael understands the concept.
http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/video-interview-with-eppf-fighters-2/
Michael, thank you for your wonderful comment. It was well said. There will always be individuals who have no clue about the reality of the things they write/say, but think they know ‘every thing’. Mr. David Calleja, certainly, is one of them. I’ll just hope he will one day wakes up and realize that he was out to lunch, when it comes to the true face of the current Ethiopian politics. For now, his heroes will continue to be the reactionary forces and the enemies of CHANGE in my beloved country, Ethiopia.
Gashaw, kindly quote Mr. Calleja where he indicated that he knows “every thing”. And if you feel Mr. Calleja is so “out to lunch”, kindly quote where he got any facts wrong or asked any questions based on mistaken assumptions, etc. Thanks very much.
For those that dont know Ethiopia has experienced a lot of bloodshed through the years. I think we are just tired of all the politics and the killing. My brother was killed in the Durgue. Mr. Flaherty seemed to be very perceptive about our past and how it relates to our future. I am afraid now because I dont know where we are headed. I want my own children to see an Ethiopia that is free but I dont know if that will ever happen. Very few seem willing to make the sacrafice. I dont believe the party in power represents the interest of my people. Gashaw and Michael on this page speak only for themselves not for the majority of Ethiopians. The majority would like to see them go.
Thank you to everybody who has responded so far. It is great to see that such an important issue can be discussed in an open and mature manner, and I sincerely mean that. One of the greatest freedoms that we all enjoy is to contribute freely without fear of violence or intimidation. That is one of the underpinnings of democracy.
Michael and gashaw, your points regarding are well-taken,and I thank you both for your respective contributions. I am interested to hear your views in further detail. If you are willing to share your version of the true situation, then please email me at: david_calleja@foreignpolicyjournal.com
I will write up an article based on your responses to a similar number of questions and answers and post it here too. Every version has two sides to the story, and I would like to hear yours.
David Calleja
I think that’s fair David.
I also suggest that Michael respond to M’s request for clarification.