BY FITSUM GETACHEW
A country can never exist without the rule of law because whatever relations exist between citizens and human beings in general cannot possibly survive in peace and harmony without the respect for the rule of law and the application of the principle of equality before the law.
This is a guarantee for a peaceful continuation of life in any country. The moment laws are violated and go unpunished the existence of that country falls into the abyss of serious doubt and could soon turn into chaos.
Ethiopia has been in transition from what was a totalitarian system of government under the full control of what used to be called the EPRDF, mainly piloted by TPLF, but when protests exploded throughout the country and reforms were demanded, there emerged a force that accepted to change things.
Throughout the past three years there was a widespread movement of reforms realized under the leadership of the new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his close associates. And new plans were devised to advance the reforms and extend them to the lower levels of administration, replacing those old and corrupt network of civil servants.
The administration began by admitting the violations of human rights and the crimes of various kinds committed by the political leadership and began to redress the wrongs. It was just the beginning but there emerged several challenges and one of them was the divergence of the leadership of the TPLF from the coalition of federal government.
A series of attempts were made to disrupt law and order creating unrest and killings among peacefully living neighboring communities. One of the recurrent tactics of the leadership of the TPLF was to create havoc and chaos in an orchestrated manner by fomenting violence, killings of innocent as well as officials that opted for the reforms.
Having deviated from the general legal framework of the federal system the TPLF leadership used all sorts of propaganda to advance its ideology and create disruptions.
The government could not advance its reforms as it was forced to settle inter communal strife that were masterminded and financed by the TPLF leadership and the premier in parliament once revealed to the Ethiopian people the more than 130 episodes of violence provoked by the TPLF leadership and how they were all carried out with the open objective of destabilizing the country, possibly breaking it into several pieces and then fancy to be regional power house in an eventual Tigray new state! This was the supposed long term ambition and ‘plan’ of the TPLF extremist leadership. And that was what drove them to do throughout the three years an unrealizable quasi independent existence.
All this led to open disagreement with the federal government and things were proceeding to an unwanted direction whereby the federal government tried to avoid any form of armed conflict or confrontation. But in the end all the efforts of the federal government resulted vain, and sadly, we have seen there was no way of avoiding armed conflict to guarantee the sovereignty of the nation!
Of course, this is one of the saddest chapters of our recent history because the violence and conflicts that this country had undergone throughout the past century would have been more than enough. It would have been advisable to try and improve the livelihood of the poor and the economy rather than resort to conflicts that have extremely exorbitant costs, not only in terms of human resources, but also in terms of the economy, the investment, the image and other related things.
All the resources wasted in wars have always been destined to lead us to more debts, more anguish on families who lose their loved ones in conflicts. The costs of war are always high and the time lost in planning and administering wars are also too high for a country such as Ethiopia which is still struggling to feed its population and guarantee some sort of decent health services etc. And yet it had to secure its existence and integrity and that was all about what happened during the past several weeks in the law enforcement campaign.
After the decision by the House of Federation to postpone the 2020 election due to the dangers of COVID-19, the TPLF leadership dismissed this decision openly as ‘unconstitutional’ and began to beat the drums of war against the federal government. And when they finally launched the treacherous attack against the northern command it was indeed the true beginning of the end of TPLF.
Now that the law enforcement campaign is almost over, what remains is to bring to justice all those who took part in the illegal activities against the federal government. It is very important to transmit the right message to all citizens and the world in general that no one is above the law and that the respect for the rule of law is an imperative that can never be brought for discussion or compromise, and that whatever activities are to be carried out in the country must always respect the laws of the country, beginning from the most fundamental of laws that is the constitution and all others down the line.
It is clear that the TPLF leadership violated all the laws of the country beginning from the constitution and the military force they
illegally organized, declared war against the nation causing the death of thousands and the destruction of immense property. But the legitimate government in Addis Ababa had no choice but to take all the necessary measures to overturn the rebellion and the declaration of war against the armed forces in the Northern Command.
The fact that the military that was organized in the Tigray region opted to kill all those who did not want to give in to the orders of the regional state reassuring their allegiance to the federal government makes the crime even more heinous and grave.
This act of the TPLF created a sense of anger and indignation among Ethiopians and even people of the regional state who disagreed with the TPLF leadership and the campaign was widely supported by all nationals. In the end, most of the leadership of the illegal junta has been either demolished or captured and very soon all of them will have to face the full force of the law.
There is no alternative to administer justice to all the barbarous acts perpetrated against innocent people across the country and the leadership of the TPLF and those associated with it, both at home and abroad, will all have to face the legal procedures with due process.
This must be clearly and transparently executed so that the current and future generation takes the home lesson. No compromise must be done in the name of reconciliation or peace and stability before the crimes committed are all exposed to the public and the appropriate punishments are decreed.
The current government will be commended for its rightful actions representing the people of Ethiopia and administer justice in the most transparent and neutral manner without resorting to vengeance or emotions. The message that comes out from this campaign must be lasting and a lesson to all those who abuse their power in the name of this people or interest group, and play a destructive role in the public creating so much distress and anguish.
Ethiopia has to come out of this cycle of violence and criminal behaviour in the name of this people or that one by ruthless authoritarian leaders who allege any of their claims using the shelter of a certain ethnic group. Such attitude must change because we are now in a new world where people must live by laws and principles and not by political expediencies linking them to this ethnic group or that one with disastrous consequences.
The language we use in communication with the public must be reined and measured respecting the constitutional order of the country and the laws, and the people of the country not appeal to the crudest of emotions and prepare for wars and conflicts while we still are having difficulty to secure decent livelihood to millions.
The Ethiopian Herald January 24/2021
