Diaspora opposition politics, human rights on the spot light Over the course of the past couples of days, Ethiopian diaspora opposition politics attracted the attention particularly of social media for two reasons. The first was the leaked conversation by Birhanu Gega about money received from Egypt through Eritrea. The fact that Birhanu does not care about means and that he is capable of sleeping with any one able to support his ambition is no news at all. He is more a liability than asset for opposition politics and of course his is never about peoples power but about himself and his obsession for power. Be that as it may, as many friends pointed out what is startling, even disturbing about the leak is the means through which the tape was obtained. I would also add, what is perhaps more troubling is the potential that this leak has in giving credence to the intolerance and heavy handed approach of the government to descent and in emboldening the increased securitization of politics. The second one relates to US house hearing on post-Meles Ethiopia and human rights. What this revealed is the willingness of both involved US politicians and the opposition for mutual instrumentalization. It is by now an established fact that human rights is a very marginal issue in foreign relations subject to other priority national interest considerations, the human rights card comes into play only when it suits some other more significant agenda (eg Iraq) or to satisfy a certain significant US domestic constituency. It is now well established that no global power is a savior any other society. Of course the diaspora opposition of the likes of Birhanu are involved either because of their susceptibility for manipulation (which US politicians may find attractive) or because it confers on them a semblance of legitimacy and avails the possibility of material or financial support for them. In the end, the cause of human rights rather than being served it ends up subverted which only serves to undermine the many legitimate human rights concerns we face routinely in this country.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:45:45 +0000
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