Ethiopia: A Post-Cold War African State

256 Pages·1999·13.36 MB·English

by  Theodore M. Vestal

ETHIOPIA
A Post-Cold War
African State
THEODORE M. VESTAL
PRAEGER Westport, Connecticut
London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vestal, Theodore M.
Ethiopia : a post-Cold War African state / Theodore M. Vestal,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-275-96610-0 (alk. paper)
1. Ethiopia—Politics and government—1991- 2. Ya Ttyopya hozboc
'abeyotawi demokrasiyawi genbar. 3. Democracy—Ethiopia—
History—20th century. 4. Ethiopia—Foreign relations—United
States. 5. United States—Foreign relations—Ethiopia. I. Title.
DT388.V47 1999
320.963'09'049—dc21 99-21190
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 1999 by Theodore M. Vestal
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-21190
ISBN: 0-275-96610-0
First published in 1999
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 54 3 21
Copyright Acknowledgments
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to use the following material:
Extracts from "Freedom of Association in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,"
Part II, by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, December 1998, 16-21.
Extracts from "Freedom of Association in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,"
Part I, by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, November 1998,18-23.
Extracts from "Human Rights Abuses in 'Democratic' Ethiopia," by Theodore M. Vestal.
Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, June 1998, 28-31.
Extracts from "Consequences of the British Occupation of Ethiopia during World War II,"
Part II, by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, January 1998, 27-30.
Extracts from "Consequences of the British Occupation of Ethiopia during World War II,"
Part I, by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, December 1997,30-32.
Extracts from "Documented Sacrifice: The Experience of Young Ethiopians Now Seeking
Political Asylum Abroad," by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register,
August 1997, 30-33.
Extracts from "We Bemoan the Current State of Ethiopia," by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy
of the Ethiopian Register, July 1997, 38-40.
Extracts from "Focus: Professor Theodore M. Vestal Letter to Ato Meles Zenawi," by Theo
dore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, August 1996, 28-30.
Extracts from "Meles Meeting with Ethiopianists," by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the
Ethiopian Register, February 1996, 18-24.
Extracts from "Yes, Prime Minister, But . . .: An Open Letter to Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi," by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, December 1995,
30-32.
Extracts from "The Precious Comb-Box (Yemabeteria Muday) of Ethiopia: An Analysis of
the Rule of the TGE and Its Legacy for the Future," Part II, by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy
of the Ethiopian Register, September 1995, 32-36.
Extracts from "The Precious Comb-Box (Yemabeteria Muday) of Ethiopia: An Analysis of
the Rule of the TGE and Its Legacy for the Future," Part I, by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy
of the Ethiopian Register, August 1995, 23-28.
Extracts from "Content of EPRDF's Constitution," by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of the
Ethiopian Register, February 1995, 48-50.
Extracts from "The Meaning of 'Constitution' and 'Constitutionalism'," by Theodore M.
Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, January 1995, 30-31.
Extracts from "Constitution of Ethiopia and the Process of Its Adoption," by Theodore M.
Vestal. Courtesy of the Ethiopian Register, December 1994, 29-31.
Extracts from "An Analysis of the New Constitution of the Ethiopia and the Process of Its
Adoption," by Theodore M. Vestal. Courtesy of Northeast African Studies vol. 3, October
1997,21-38.
This page intentionally left blank
For freedom-loving Ethiopians everywhere.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface xi
Acronyms xvii
Part I: The Transition Period, 1991-1995 1
1. The EPRDF Comes to Power 3
2. The Importance of Political Definitions 13
3. Squelching the UDN: Previews of Coming Attractions 23
4. 1992 Elections 29
5. Early Signs of Autocracy in the TGE 45
6. Human Rights Abuses by the TGE 55
7. The Strategy of the EPRDF 63
8. Drafting and Approving a New Constitution 83
9. An Analysis of the Constitution of the FDRE 91
10. Organizing Revolutionary Democracy 103
11. The Kitab of the TGE: Final Reckoning 111
x Contents
Part II: The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,
1995-Present 117
12. Government of the FDRE 119
13. Human Rights in the FDRE 129
14. Freedom of Association in the FDRE 143
15. The Mischief of Ethnic Factions in the FDRE 165
16. The Economy of "Revolutionary Democracy" 173
17. The Political Theory of the EPRDF 183
18. Next Steps Towards Democracy 191
Appendix: Some Business Establishments of the EPRDF/TPLF 213
Selected Bibliography 219
Index 225
Unnumbered photo section follows p. 116.
Preface
In the mid-1960s, it was my good karma to work with Kennedy's Children
on the roof of Africa. As a Peace Corps executive, I traveled throughout
Ethiopia, a heaven-blessed land of natural beauty and potential abundance,
meeting Ethiopians from all walks of life. I encountered a fascinating cul
ture and a handsome people whose intelligence and courteous ways were
beguiling. The Peace Corps' aspirations were high as was the altitude in the
highlands where we worked. The country was at peace, and the Peace Corps
was appreciated for what it was accomplishing. At that time, historian Ar
nold Toynbee said that in the Peace Corps, the world was seeing the Western
tradition at its best. This frequently was the case with the volunteers in
Ethiopia, especially in those happily naive days before the Vietnam war and
Watergate scandals.
Most of the Peace Corps Volunteers were teachers who helped expand
Ethiopia's system of education and made a qualitative improvement in the
English language competence of an entire generation of Ethiopians. In the
process, they forged bonds of amity and goodwill with their hosts, and the
ramifications of those ties are still being played out in the histories of the
two nations. The Peace Corps workers were part of a succession of thou
sands of Americans who, beginning in World War II, pioneered ideas of bi
lateral aid in Ethiopia and developed a special relationship, some would say
the most extraordinary relationship, between the United States and an Afri
can nation.