With Friends Like This…

I am trying to zip though “Are Men Necessary?” as every self respecting post-feminist I know is scrambling to do. (The simple answer, according to Maureen is, “No. But neither is ice cream.”)

Anyway.

One ringa-dindy… two ringa-dingy… Is this the party to whom I would like to talk to?

Call schedule for today, Monday, December 12, 2005 in support of HR 4423 as put forward by Congressman Chris Smith…

Monday, December 12
Congressman John Boozman: (202) 225-4301
Congressman Brad Sherman: (202) 225-5911

Let the dialing commence.

By the way, two ferenjies who have stuck their necks for Ethiopia: Chris Smith and Ana Gomez. Period. The rest did the whole, “let’s wait to see who is winning and jump on that bandwagon” calisthenics. And Theodore Vestal (because ethiopundit says so, and what ethiopundit says... etch, meet stone).

Let’s do a little compare and contrast:

Chris Smith on November 3:

When I led a delegation to Addis in August, I urged Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to respect the rights of free speech and assembly and to immediately investigate the shooting of more than 40 election protesters by security forces in June. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has neither respected the rights of his citizens nor the rule of law in his country.

Read the whole statement. It’s pretty amazing.

Then let’s mosey on to Mistah Jimmah Car’a, who is out shilling a book on values and morality. In between, he is worshipping “the Prince of Peace.” (I’ll include the whole thing since it’s short and embittering):

ATLANTA….The Carter Center expresses its alarm at the outbreak of violence in Ethiopia rooted in the ongoing dispute over the May 2005 elections. We send condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives, and urge that every effort be made to avoid further death and injury.

Alrighty. Then…

Both government and opposition party supporters must show restraint. Leaders from each side must seek meaningful, constitutional, and peaceful mechanisms for bringing election disputes to a conclusion and allow the country to move forward.

You have to understand, by the time Mr. Carter issued this statement the leaders of the main opposition had been rounded up and jailed, and Prime Minister Meles was telling western journalist that they were going to be tried for treason. Another segment of the opposition had joined the parliament, something Mr. Carter has been “urging.”

So, yes. Can the opposition please show restraint?

The Center calls upon the government to insist that state security forces refrain from excessive use of force in response to protests and respect and protect the human rights of those who seek to express their opinions peacefully. Free expression and the right of association, including peaceful public demonstrations, are essential to all democracies, and the Ethiopian government has the responsibility to allow such constitutionally protected actions.

So the Ethiopian government has set up concentration camps throughout the land and has been generally acting like a wayward thug. What part of Ato Meles’ government, Mr. Carter sir, do you think is interested in “protect[ing] the human rights of those who seek to express their opinions peacefully”? The part that is rounding up kids and sending them to Dedessa, or the part that is promoting “democracy” by rounding up its opponents? And is there an ETA on when to expect Ato Meles’ government to take on “the responsibility” of allowing constitutionally protected actions such as, let’s see, free expression and freedom of assembly, without the added bonus of gunning down people who do?

The Center encourages the opposition parties associated with the actions to exercise influence over their supporters to bring the current crisis to a close. The constitution's rights of association and protest also have strict limits. They exist within the context of the law.

Yeah. Maybe if Mr. Carter “calls upon” the EPRDF to free up some media, the opposition can ask its supporters not to throw stones so that they don’t get shot in the head.

The Carter Center calls on all parties and the Ethiopian people to recommit themselves to the pursuit of peace and democracy. All parties should seek to re-invigorate channels of communication and peaceful debate while disavowing violence.

Oh, please!

In the end, it won’t matter one single bit what Mr. Carter says. And the reason I keep bringing what he says to the forefront is not because I have deluded myself into thinking he will stand up for human rights in Ethiopia. But I despise the contempt he has for Ethiopians. His statement reeks of scorn, if not aggressive inattentiveness. The time to “call upon” the EPRDF to do anything has long passed.

It’s not that I expect Mr. Carter to “strongly condemn” Ato Meles’ government any time soon either. Please. Not enough Ethiopians have died for Mr. Carter to be rankled. But we all have to make sure that statements like the above goes on Mr. Carter’s human rights record. The smart thing to do now is to keep on asking him to defend his tacit approval of “the situation in Ethiopia.”

And how is it that Chris Smith, who until May none/few of us in the Ethiopian Diaspora had heard of … how come it is Chris Smith who is standing up to Ato Meles more than Mr. Carter?

I don’t like contempt. Especially when it is directed against the weak.

It’s the 15^th day of the hunger strike by the jailed opposition leaders.