BY ZEKARIAS WOLDEMARIAM
For years, the Ethiopian defense forces have played a big role in safeguarding the sovereignty of the country. When the past administration plunged into political crisis, they have played their role as citizens and vanguards of the people and the constitutions. This is because the army is nurtured to be guarantor of a nation and its people.
However, when the ruling political party intentionally devises the army to serve its own interest, it completely contravenes the principles of democracy and consequently leads to unfair system. This is because it works to make sure that the interest of the party is protected.
Ever since EPRDF came to power in 1991, especially after defense forces were reestablished anew, there used to be a document known as the red book. The red book states the principles how the army should operate and what it should be committed.
The book notes that the army should be guardian of EPRDFs ideology of revolutionary democracy. This is but only one instance of the many fallacies of the book, as well as EPRDF.
But if someone focuses on this idea alone, it becomes clear that the army is designed to be a protector of a small group and serve as their weapon of dictatorship. The group adheres to the ideology called revolutionary democracy and others with varying view and interest are doomed to be onlookers.
But Ethiopia is a country of over 100 million people with diverse ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. Hence a multiparty democracy is likely to provide the necessary option to entertain the demands of such highly heterogeneous society.
People should be allowed to test a political party in a democratic and fair manner and choose it accordingly. Furthermore, since ultimate political power rests in the hand of the people, political parties need to be accountable to the constitutional and serve only as long as they are chosen by the people. They should leave power when people fire them through election.
In this regard, the army can play a significant role by abiding to the constitution and remaining loyal to the interest of the public as well as the political party that conforms to the provision of the constitution and the choice of the people.
On the contrary, what has been witnessed in the country for about 27 years was that the army has been abused to serve the interest of the ruling party.
In 1991, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) took over power overthrowing the derg regime. The front which is a union of four ethnic based armed groups overthrew the military derg regime and replaced the army with its own first. But later the army was established. However, the army was not formed in the right shape.
First of all, the front itself had problem in its structuring. It was a front that represents four ethnic based political parties which had their own armed fighters which were later subsumed in to the defense army.
This means many of the army members especially the senior or influential ones had political or ethnic affiliation of their respective backgrounds.
What has been witnessed in the national defense forces until recently also testifies this. Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) which had the upper hand in EPRDF both militarily and politically. As a result, the army was more of subject to the unfair or biased to the political will of TPLF.
Instead of being a guard of the nation and the constitution, the army was only a servant of the ruling party.
But in a country that claims to be adhering to the principle of democracy the army is supposed to operate objectively as enshrined in the constitution and work to safeguard the nation, its people and the constitution.
As a result, the army had lost trust of the public as it was perceived as servant of the dictatorial group. Furthermore, it also tended to collaborate to the orders of the regime regardless of the conditional provision.
Hence, as political parties change through time, and new government takes over the political leadership, the defense forces would always remain in their usual place to protect the nation, its people, the constitution and the supreme interest of the people.
Fortunately, the incumbent is doing its reform of the army and the security sector with understanding of this. Accordingly, as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed explained to the House of Peoples Representatives, the government is reforming the defense forces so that it can be free from affiliation to ethnic backgrounds or political sentiments. This will be a success that can speed up the process of building democratic system in the country.
The Ethiopian Herald December 5/2020
