ADDIS ABABA, 13 June 2005 — Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi faces a tough challenge to convince the outside world that his democratic credentials are intact, particularly after authorizing a security crackdown after disputed elections.
Under international pressure to show restraint after security forces gunned down at least 26 people this week, Meles expressed regret at the loss of life, but warned he would take “preventative” measures to curb further unrest.
In his first public comments since Ethiopia’s worst bout of violence in four years, Meles said he remained committed to bringing democracy to the Horn of Africa’s dominant power, saying reforms should be speeded up.
“(The elections) are an indication that our democracy is maturing. I believe there’s no turning back,” he said. “The purpose of struggle has always been to ensure progress and democracy in our country. It is very gratifying to see we are making enormous progress in that regard.”
But, with the shooting of students, rounding up of young men and bodies piled up in morgues across the capital Addis Ababa, many Ethiopians fear Meles’ strong arm tactics signal a slide back to repression.
It looked very different a month ago.
On the eve of the elections, Meles’ government of former revolutionaries basked in international praise for allowing the opposition unprecedented access to state-controlled media and the freedom to hold rallies during the campaign.
Euphoria over Ethiopia’s most open elections in its 3,000-year history quickly faded when the ruling party and opposition claimed victory amid opposition allegations of vote-rigging.
Most analysts blame the bloodshed on habits of political intolerance acquired over generations of dictatorship, saying the violence resulted from a mixture of police heavy-handedness and inflammatory opposition rhetoric.
The final results of Ethiopia’s second only multiparty poll were delayed by a month to July 8, stoking tensions in Africa’s top coffee growing country of 72 million.
Although provisional results indicated that Meles’ ruling party had held on to its parliamentary majority, opposition parties increased their seats by tenfold and made a clean sweep in Addis Ababa — confounding all expectations.
Feted by Western leaders and donors, Meles was once hailed by US President Bill Clinton, as a “part of a new generation of leaders” — and regarded as the man to steer Ethiopia’s transition from nearly two decades of Marxist authoritarian rule under military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam to democracy.
Meles stood shoulder to shoulder with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the launch of the Africa Commission, an ambitious project aimed at espousing good governance and economic development in the world’s poorest continent.
But he has come under greater scrutiny following a standoff with Eritrea over an international border ruling, that Ethiopia only accepts in part.
Ethiopia relies annually on $2 billion from donors following a famine that killed one million people in 1984, and tops the list of African countries benefiting from debt relief.
Meles’ international image is in stark contrast to his reputation at home where he is best known as the former guerrilla leader whose rebel Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front toppled Mengistu.
Critics say Meles is out of touch with his people, noting that his only public appearance in recent weeks was at a rally by supporters of his Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and then to vote in his constituency.
“Meles is not the kind of individual that wanders around the country talking to people, which might imply he has been closeted in Addis Ababa,” said David Shinn, a former American ambassador to Ethiopia.
Meles admitted he expected the EPRDF to do better, and attributed the opposition’s good performance to a “protest vote” against poverty and unemployment, especially in Addis Ababa.
Opposition leaders say Meles badly underestimated popular discontent with his government’s 14-year rule, and has lost sight of Ethiopia’s changing political landscape.
“It’s important for his party to learn, if they are to remain relevant in Ethiopian politics, that democracy starts with a profound respect of human rights,” said Berhanu Nega, deputy leader of the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy.
“The days of ruling through terror, of making people afraid of the state have largely gone. It would be good if the EPRDF recognized the changing times,” he added.
Despite urging more action to allow free press, free courts and free market policies, many Ethiopians admit that there are many factors complicating the country’s transition to democracy, notably its ethnic and ideological diversity.
