While presenting his administration’s performance report to the parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed said the government will continue exerting what is at its disposal to safeguard the supremacy of law, without compromising the respect of citizens’ political and democratic rights.
The reform effort of the Administration has not been and will not be expected to be a bed of roses. The Administration has inherited backlog of problems. To make matters worse, not few individuals and groups that stand against the changes also toil to backtrack the reform from its course.
The political and democratic space, expanded than ever, has been misused by these elements. Due to this, lawlessness reigned in some parts of the country.
When the government decided to improve repressive laws which stood in contradiction to the Constitution, like the anti-terrorism law, they had made loud noises, as if the constitution is overruled.
But, the government’s up-right position for the respect of democratic and political rights is appreciable. We have started our journey through a new path. This path is indeed a rocky one. If the government takes repressive measures for every bits and piece of actions of individuals and groups, without justifiable reason, the reform will end up being just a merry-go-round.
When there is a rule of law, nobody is punishable or can be made to suffer, except for a clear breach of law. Every public official, from the Prime Minister himself to a lay citizenry, is under the law. Thus, arresting people arbitrarily and taking other unlawful measures is not the order of the day.
Any breach of law that results in the suffering of citizens will bring legal accountability sooner or later.
Therefore, to guarantee the supremacy of the law, certain basic considerations are required.
Firstly, everyone has the right to presume innocence unless proven guilty by a court of law. Secondly, nobody is above the law and everyone, regardless of his/ her position or socio-linguistic background, must respect the laws of the land.
From this point, it is essential to consider the reasons that have made the government so tolerant—and rule of law is an important aspect of democracy; it is not an instrument to stifle citizens’ rights.
However, those who want to see dictatorial governments back are always fond of rule by law but present their claim under the pretext of containing lawlessness.
In a democratic system, the law should rule the people, and the people should obey the law.
The government has taken and is taking legal measures on wrongdoers, without intimidating citizens who peacefully pursue their democratic and political rights. This must continue and it is the right path that we all have been aspiring for a long time.
The Ethiopian Herald July 5/2019
