Ethiopia has taken an exciting adventure. After years of unrest and protests, mass arrests and hundreds of deaths, there is suddenly a prospect of rapprochement between government and the dissatisfied population and democratic changes.
The man who sparks this hope is the relatively young Oromo politician Abiy Ahmed from the largest population group in Ethiopia. At the end of March this year, he was unexpectedly put forward as prime minister. He visited troubled regions, talked about reconciliation and democratic reforms for the benefit of everyone, regardless of ethnic origin. He spoke to populations in their own language.
Friend and foe are impressed, including former Oromo opposition leader Leenco Lata, who went into exile in the 1990s and now lives in Oslo, Norway. “I have never seen an Ethiopian a leader who was greeted with such enthusiasm. All predecessors came to power by force,” he says during an interview in Amsterdam. “I am optimistic because now the impression is created the leadership listens to the grievances of the population. The day after his appointment, in Oromia – the homeland of the Oromo – there were demonstrations for him, despite the current state of emergency.”
Since 1991, the small minority of the Tigreans has dominated the ruling Ethiopian Revolutionary Democratic Popular Front (EPRDF).
With the coming of Ahmed this dominance does not just end. That is why Leenco Lata is not only optimistic, but also worried, he says.
“Within the governing EPRDF there are powerful parties that want to maintain their grip. The state of emergency introduced in February is maintained by military and security services. These two institutions are dominated by Tigreans who have great interests in the Oromo region. They took land from farmers. They invested in agriculture, mining, sugar plantations. They have a lot to lose.”
When Leenco Lata was still an angry young man, he took up arms after studying chemical technology at the University of Rochester (USA). In his own country he fought for an independent Oromia. That was in the early seventies.
Now the former leader of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), like the new Prime Minister, is announcing the message that arms are not making progress, only reforms with an equivalent place under the sun for all populations. Lata wrote books about the difficult process of state formation and self-determination in the Horn of Africa. What happens in Ethiopia determines the fate of the entire region.
What should happen now?
“Lifting the state of emergency — the people hate the presence of troops in towns and villages. It would also be a sign that the military is under civil control.”
“The challenge for the governing EPRDF itself is to democratize internally. Within the EPRDF, all participating parties (of the different population groups) must receive proportional representation.”
“If that has happened, a democratic system can be built. In Ethiopia there has never been a peaceful reform of the political system. Former regimes were always overthrown, the past was destroyed and we had to rebuild. We must learn to deal with opponents, not eliminate them or throw them into prison, as we have always done.”
And if the new prime minister fails?
“He came to power in response to the youth protest, not because the EPRDF initiated the changes. When the young protesters celebrated his appointment as prime minister, they celebrated their own victory. The call for change is now so strong that the current elite no longer determines the agenda. Back to the old situation is impossible. Either we do well this time, or it will be disaster.”
The young people can take up arms again, like you did?
“I do not apologize for my membership of in the Liberation Front and the political course that we followed until the nineties. I am not ashamed of anything. The world has changed, including the Horn of Africa and Ethiopia. We now know that you do not get democracy through armed struggle. Everyone who tried that has become a dictator. And setting independence as the highest goal was wrong. It’s about democratization, everyone’s involvement.”
In 2015 you wanted to return to Ethiopia.
“After two days I was told to leave. Very nice of them.”
Nice?
“Others were imprisoned.”
Would you like to come back now?
“We are working on that. We exchange messages with the new leadership.”
Do you see a political role for yourself in the new Ethiopia?
“Too late for me. I want to go back to share my experiences and lessons. That is my only ambition. The time has come for young people to lead. There are too many leaders in Africa who stay in politics until they are senile and too old.”
– By Wim Brummelman | NRC.nl
