Part I Contextual Profile On Re-imprisoned Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa of Ethiopia
Ethiopians who are in their 70’s plus today have survived through four political tsunamis the country
has undergone in the last six decades. These include the bestial but short-lived Mussolini/Fascist
invasion of the country (1936-41); the resumption of semi-feudal imperial rule by Emperor Haile
Sellassie (1941-1974); the popular mass revolution subsequently taken over by the military (Derg)
(1974-1991). The fourth regime is the current tandem occupation of the country and the severing of
Eritrea from Ethiopia by Isayass/ EPLF and the crony, the Tigrayan TPLF under Meles (1991-
present). Among other things, the most tragic and defining characteristic in the transitions and
tenures of the regimes--with the qualified exception of periods of the Haile Sellassie era—is the
cyclical rampancy of violence, oppression, death and destruction visited upon the ever enduring
Ethiopian people. There were also famines, environmental degradation as well as internal and
interstate conflicts that further exacerbated the suffering of the people.
What emerges as an explanatory paradigm for analysis of political phenomena in Ethiopia in
general revolves around what I call “the culture of violence and the violence of culture” that has
permeated and defined Ethiopia’s political history, not just for the past seven decades but for
centuries? The current tribalist regime has already used its monopoly of deadly force and absolute
political hegemony to sever Eritrea and wantonly land lock Ethiopia. It continues to use brute force to
massacre Ethiopians and obliterate Ethiopia per se. It is in the context of its words and, more
importantly, its deeds that one can at least attempt to reckon with current events such as the regime’s
capricious incarceration (again) of Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa, Chairperson of the Unity for Democracy
and Justice Party of Ethiopia.
For virtually all of its history, political leadership or right to rule in Ethiopia has not been a
matter of peoples choice or but of divine ordination. Hence, one of the several titles of Emperor Haile
Sellassie was “Elect of God.” Such a political culture does not engender or encourage political
participation by citizens be they males or even less so females—unless elected by God or by the
Gun. Indeed some emperors reached the pinnacle of power by the gun and then coerced the clergy
to confirm them as “elect” of God. Still, there were some female empresses as well by virtue of being
a king’s daughter. Empress Zewditu Menelik at the turn of the twentieth Century was one such
example.
The Modest Beginnings of Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa
Having come of age in a stifling political culture, the young, dynamic and charismatic Mrs. Birtukan
Mideksa emerged into the political spotlight in the early period of the 21st Century. She was born in
1974 in Addis Ababa. On the material side of life, hers were low income parents but she said she was
raised with so much rich love and care. She had a positive and friendly disposition towards all she
encountered. She was superior at school and eventually joined Addis Ababa University. She recalls
that she wanted to do public service and her shortlist was law or medicine. She then heard about a
lady judge who had reached the level of Justice of the High Court of Ethiopia. That inspired young
Birtukan to aspire to serve her people in the realm of law and justice. In 1989, shortly after her
graduation, she was appointed judge and served with competence and equanimity—insofar as the
system would allow--for the next six years, followed by law practice.
The Janus-faced devious regime of autocrat Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia operates with absolute
armed power at home and duplicitous propaganda abroad. It denies what it really is and does in the
country while it projects what it is not to the rest of the world. Under such circumstances a general
“election” was slated for 2005 and a number of patriotic, democratic and dedicated Ethiopians formed
parties and coalitions to peacefully contest in the “election”—even though they had serious doubts
about the regime’s trustworthiness. They were, however, encouraged in this endeavor by European
and American groups and election observers who promised to be rigorous in monitoring the voting
and counting processes and holding the ruling regime and all concerned accountable. It was at this
momentous occasion that Birtukan joined the democratic movement and she was selected to be
Deputy Chair of the Kinijit (Coalition) Democratic Party of Ethiopia.
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