Meles Zenawi-Columbia University World Leaders Forum Protests

Tesfaye Negussie and Evangeline El Fayed of United Nile examine the debate on Meles Zenawi as protests erupt during his discussion at Columbia University in New York City.

Meles Zenawi-Columbia University World Leaders Discussion

MELES ZENAWI CAME TO TALK ABOUT AFRICA’S POSITION IN THE WORLD THE FOCUS WAS ON HIS CONTROVERSIAL GOVERNING METHODS

The opposing sides were penned in separate barricades at opposite sides of the street. They hurled insults at each other as dozens of police officers stood in between them and passer byes looked on with intent curiosity.

“Shame on you!” one side yelled.

“Everyone is laughing at you!” the other side chanted.

The two sides were the opposition and supporters of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi. Zenawi was invited, Wednesday, September 22, 2010, for a discussion at Columbia University by its World Leaders Forum to talk about the current global economy and its impact in Africa, but Zenawi’s alleged human rights violations and controversial politics were the focus of debate.

“Sometimes people that are protesting think that we don’t know that he is controversial; that we don’t know what is going on in Ethiopia,” Mamadou Diouf, the professor of African Studies at Columbia University who moderated the discussion said of the groups that were protesting. “We knew, of course that we’ll have many questions on Ethiopia compared to the questions on the talk.

Zenawi has been Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 1995. His coalition group, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front took control of Ethiopia after ousting the Derg, a military junta that executed and imprisoned hundreds of thousand of Ethiopians without trial.

Supporters of Zenawi hailed Zenawi’s claim that his international connections boost Ethiopia’s economy by 10.1 percent, in the last year. The International Monetary Fund estimates the figure to be about 7 percent. The opposition condemns him as a murder and liar due to the government police killings of 200 unarmed protesters in 2005, the jailing of opposition leaders and his government’s censorship of the independent press, among other allegations.

“One of the worst violators of human rights in Africa,” Neamin Zeleke who was protesting against the Prime Minister said. “The very fact that he is invited here at Columbia, it is a disgrace and a shame.”

I tried to interview one of the Meles supporters, but was told by one of them that I didn’t have the credentials to interview them. One of the supporters even went as far as to slap the camera out of my hand as I tried to take pictures of their group.

The forum was attended by those from the Ethiopian community; journalists; and Columbia faculty, students and alumni. Zenawi stayed in accordance with the discussion topic and focused on Africa’s current economic situation.

“Africans have, for the first time in three decades, real alternatives to the orthodox,” Zenawi said. “Africans now have a real chance to chart a new coarse of development, one that incorporates the best practices elsewhere and is capable of generating fast growth.”

Africa’s “alternative to the orthodox” can be seen with China-Africa relations in the past decade. According to the Journal of International Relations, trade between Africa and China reached $55 billion in 2006 and is expected to double in 2010.

Zenawi centered his address on the failures of the West’s economic practice of neoliberalism, in Africa. Neoliberalism is an economical term that refers to free commerce void of government intervention, commerce barriers and tariffs; not to be confused with the political definition of liberalism. It is liberal in the sense that it has no economic controls.

“Neoliberalism has failed. Not only in the peripheries, but also in its heartland,” Zenawi said referring to the global recession. “The crisis has also showed that those who have rejected it have continued to prosper, even during the crisis.”

During the question and answer portion of the forum only three out of 13 of the questions and statements presented to the Prime Minister by the audience were related to economic issues. Nearly all the rest were directed at the government’s alleged human rights violations and controversial practices.

I asked Zenawi how he can claim that Ethiopia’s government operates as a democracy after his government jailed the leader of a major opposition party in Ethiopia, Birtukan Mideksa, as well as hundreds of other opponents; he has jammed international news stations that are critical of his government; and his government was accused by neutral overseers for denying transparency in the 2005 elections.

Zenawi chose to answer my question by only responding to the issue of Mideksa, the imprisoned opposition leader. He went on for several minutes about how his government was justified in sentencing her to life in prison because she denied that she ever gave a pardon to be released from jail, for a previous crime.

Mohammed Keita, African Advocacy Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists said that he has heard Zenawi’s rhetoric before.

“His administration has maintained this rhetoric that claims freedom of the press and freedom of expression is protected in Ethiopia, but we have documented otherwise,” Keita said. “The Ethiopian administration is so well aware of who we are that we have the distinct honor of having our website blocked, in Ethiopia.”

Mamadou Diouf, the professor of African Studies at Columbia University was happy with the day’s outcome.

“Inviting Meles or any other controversial head of state is an opportunity to engage directly with them,” Diouf said. “It’s a democratic practice.”