Biting the Hand that Feeds - Ethiopia Imposes Draconian Law on NGOs

[Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi - Photo from nazret.com]

On Tuesday, Ethiopia's parliament adopted a bill banning international aid agencies from certain kinds of work, including:

- the advancement of human and democratic rights,
- the promotion of equality between peoples, sexes or religions
- campaigning for children's rights or the rights of the disabled
- conflict resolution and reconciliation, and
- work on criminal justice issues

National NGOs that receive more than 10% of their funding from international sources are also banned from working in these areas.  According to the Ethiopian Government, the bill is aimed at preventing foreign interference in Ethiopian issues.

Which, of course, is understandable - after all, it's hard to think of anything more threatening than children's rights, let alone the rights of the disabled.

The Ethiopian Government, conscious that this new law might raise concerns among the unenlightened, has taken pains to justify its actions.  As the BBC reports, "a defence of the bill published by the ruling party described this attitude as a neo-liberalist concept which sees African governments as obstacles to development."

Instead of indulging in any such neo-liberalist critique, we should instead focus on the positive, such as the Government's impressive record when it comes to denying basic human and political rights.  After all, it takes a stunning attention to detail in order to win 99% of the available elected positions, as the ruling party did in last April's local elections.

In fact, the law makes perfect sense.  According to Human Rights Watch:

"The new law is part of a broader trend toward political repression. Even though the country's political opposition has fractured since the 2005 elections and poses little real threat to government control, the authorities have continued to subject opposition leaders and activists to harassment and abuse...

Ethiopia's already-dire human rights record has worsened in recent years. Ethiopian military forces have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in two conflicts in Ethiopia and in neighboring Somalia, with no meaningful effort to hold those responsible to account. Federal, regional and local officials have regularly harassed, arbitrarily detained, and subjected to torture critics of the government, and have denounced human rights groups that expose these problems."

So, to sum up - it seems the Ethiopian Goverment thinks that the best way to develop the country is by brutalizing their population.  An interesting approach, albeit not terribly original.  (Hello, Zimbabwe.)

The question, of course, is how will donors react, considering that Ethiopia receives hundreds of millions of dollars a year in foreign assistance.  (In FY 2007, for instance, Ethiopia received $213,845,722 in USAID funds alone.)

The Americans, the British and other donors have "voiced deep concern," but so far to little avail.  Or, at least, the Ethiopian Government seems remarkably unconcerned.

According to Hailemariam Desalegn of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Party (EPRDP): "We don't believe that the bill's passing will affect our relationship with key development partners. If so, we are willing to sit down and explain our position."

Unofficial translation - You'll continue to give us money no matter what we do.

Which raises a larger point, a lesson which repressive governments know all too well.  They can ensure the continued flow of aid by holding their citizens hostage.  Given the scope of need in Ethiopia, few donors would be willing to walk away, even as the Government systematically undermines everything the donors are trying to achieve.  Not to mention, of course, Ethiopia's strategic importance.

It's easy to say that the US and others should cut assistance, at least until we read the stories - and see the pictures - of Ethiopians suffering from drought, and hunger.  We are, all of us, caught between the devil and deep blue sea.

All I do is take refuge in a somewhat attenuated belief in karma, which at the end of the day isn't that satisfying at all.