Issues Television Pundits Did Not Unpack from Obama´s Inaugural Speech

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.

I followed the coverage of Barack Obama´s Inauguration on television with fascination. Indeed, I was happy and fortunate to witness with the rest of the globe the rise of the first African-American to the highest office in the world. I assume this event was one of the most widely covered, if not the most, by global media networks. Television pundits and reporters have approached Obama´s presidential speech from almost every angle, but I feel that pundits glossed over a part of his speech, where he warns dictators, perpetrators of genocide across the world. The lines from his speech I quoted above mean a lot to the people of some African countries, suffering under brutal dictatorships and ethnically motivated ongoing genocides and exclusions from national economies and benefits of citizenship.

If Obama translates those lines into foreign policy ideas on Africa, extending a hand to unclench the clenched iron fists of dictators, who cling to power through corruption, deceit and silencing of dissent is nowhere urgently needed than in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Democratic Republic of Congo. The current leaders of Zimbabwe and Ethiopia alone have been in power for over 46 years combined, which is a total number of years Barack Obama has lived so far. In these years, these dictators have not been building, but destroying the fabrics of their societies—massacring the population, sending millions into exile in neighboring countries and thousands into western nations, displacing millions inside, and forcing families to move apart.

It is very undeniable that Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, a leader of a minority ruling group for the last 18 years, will do his best to lure the new Obama Administration in order to continue to favor his own group and to escape accountability for his destructive actions. Human Rights Watch (2009) well documented that ´Oromia, Ethiopia´s most populous region, has long suffered from heavy-handed government repression, with students, activists, or critics of rural administrations regularly accused of being OLF operatives". Human Rights Watch is commendable to document that such challenges from oppositions and rebels have led to massive arbitrary imprisonment and torture. The report also holds Ethiopia accountable for war crimes in the Eastern Ogaden region and also in Somalia.

These are amongst the reasons that Africans are naively optimistic that the US will lead again in Africa by helping to dismantle tyrannical structures and replacing them with freedom, democracy and rule of law. The Voice of America (VOA) Radio English Service reported that such optimism amongst Africans is widespread. VOA quotes Professor Okey Onyejekwe, the director of governance for the United Nations´ Economic Commission for Africa, as saying:

Many Africans are expressing optimism that Obama's presidency would mark a significant improvement in U.S. policies towards Africa. They are also hopeful that various African leaders would take a cue from the United States experience of electing the first African American president.

Those few lines from Obama´s speech may not be welcomed by African dictators, who will feel threatened and exposed naked, but surely even the dictators will be happy to see this man in the White House. Nevertheless, dictators have financial, logistical and intellectual resources that repressed populations do not have. They strategize to use these resources deceitfully to lure the new Obama Administration. For example, the Ethiopian embassy in the US, which is the extended arm of the dictator in Ethiopia, has already thrown a pre-inaugural party, celebrating the elevation of President Barack Obama. This swift move was to impress the man, who they think is a threat to them unless they are seen giving parties and complementing him. Dr Samuel Aseffa, ambassador of Ethiopia in the US, is the conveyor belt for the regime in Finfinnee (Addis Ababa). He quickly extolled Barack Obama on the Ethiopian government-owned news agencies and media, such as Walta Information Center.

He said, "Of course, this election has a special meaning for the people of Africa. One of our own sons was elected President of the United States. This will even further strengthen the ties between the people of Africa and the people of the United States" . Of course, I don´t question the astuteness of the ambassador or the truthfulness of his statement, but I question the intentions with which his statement was made, which I think is rather callous. The sweet words and the party for Obama were attempts to capture the attention of the new US administration. I am sure that Obama is smart enough to distinguish deceit from fact. In unclenching the fists of tyrants, Obama must begin taking actions more rapidly in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. The case of Ethiopia is particularly complicated as the regime has more grounds to justify itself because it was a US ally in the last eight years of the Bush Administration. It is obvious that Ethiopia fought a proxy war in Somalia. That is an advantage that Ethiopia always leverages in order to be treated preferentially from Zimbabwe, for example.

I believe that the majority of the repressed people in Ethiopia condemn terrorism regardless of the way they have been brutally treated. A true alliance must be forged between the Obama Administration and tyrannized African peoples. Part of Obama´s responsibility in Africa should be to acknowledge and strengthen opposition parties, civil society organizations and aid NGOs, instead of only direct relationship with the regimes that have worn out some countries for several decades. As indicated in his inaugural speech, Obama and his people should focus on making it a policy to promote genuine freedom, rule of law and democracy in Africa. The US administration should identify hotspots of conflict and genocide in Africa and start prioritizing them. Obviously the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia need urgent attentions. Perhaps, creating a special envoy and committee for peace in this region is advisable. The Central African region is another hotspot for such scenes of endless conflicts. If Obama means what he said in his speech, many looming humanitarian crises can be averted. If taken, these kinds of measures can help Africa move towards prevention of conflict, instead of after-reports. Reports after genocidal events and the outbreak pandemic of diseases amount to nothing less than contempt against those who suffer heavily. Although documentations of human rights abuses and genocides are needed, actions are hugely missing. Actions must be made quintessential parts of solving problems in Africa.

I, like many other African stakeholders, am optimist about US-sponsored freedom, rule of law and democracy on the continent. Africans will be eager to see if Obama will truly unclench the fists of those who cling to power, as he promised in his speech.

In introspection, African leaders themselves have got a lot to learn from the way the former president Bush and Obama have handed power to each other peacefully. There were no gun battles in the city streets of Washington D. C or Accra because one president refused to leave office, after the people have decided, through the ballots, that they want a new leader.

Photo Credit: New York Times

Links:

Obama's Inaugural Speech Transcript and video by New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/us/politics/20text-obama.html?%2339=&_r=1&sq=Barrack%20Obama&st=cse&%2359;s%20Inagrual%20speech%20transcripts=&scp=1&pagewanted=print

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/01/20/us/politics/1231545769118/barack-obamas-inaugural-speech.html?scp=1&sq=Obama&st=cse

Human Rights Warch's 2009 report on human rights conditions in Ethiopia:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/01/20/us/politics/1231545769118/barack-obamas-inaugural-speech.html?scp=1&sq=Obama&st=cse

Walta Information Center on Pre-Inaugural Ball by Ethiopian Embassy in the US for President Obama

http://www.waltainfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6387&Itemid=52

VOA News Coverage of Africa's optimism about the presidency of Barack Obama

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-01-20-voa2.cfm

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-01-21-voa8.cfm