Ethiopian Territorial Integrity and Ethiopiawinet:

Sudan annexing Ethiopian Territory

By Tecola W. Hagos

�One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.�

                                                                                  - Eleanor Roosevelt

�The greater a man is in power above others, the more he ought to excel them in virtue. None ought to govern who is not better than the governed.�

                                                                                   - Publius Syrus

PART ONE

I. Introduction

Now we are being informed by a patriotic committee of Ethiopians that Meles Zenawi is actively engaged in the handing over of extensive Ethiopian Territory, tens of thousands of square kilometers, to the Government of Sudan. It seems that the Committee that brought to our attention the recent abrogation of duty by Meles Zenawi to defend and preserve Ethiopia has the added difficulty of penetrating the news blackout imposed by the Meles Government. However, it is to the great credit of such courageous and patriotic Ethiopians that we were able to follow and monitor the activities of Meles Zenawi and the EPRDF and the Sudanese Government Officials and military in connection with the ongoing attempt to dismantle and destroy Ethiopia. It is no news that Sudan has ambition to extend its control of the Tikur Abayi (Blue Nile) River basin and conquer the most prized cistern�Lake Tana, but what is unfathomable is the possibility of an Ethiopian leader collaborating with Ethiopia�s historic enemies handing over Ethiopian territory.

My colleagues and I have tried to find at least a draft of the alleged agreement entered between Meles Zenawi and Sudan�s Omar al-Bashir on ceding Ethiopian territory. We were faced with impenetrable wall of secrecy. It has come to our attention also that no document in connection with that agreement is to be found anywhere in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs�not even in the private locker of the Foreign Minister. It seems Meles Zenawi has absolute control in secrecy and under locks all of the negotiation material and final documentation of the treasonous ceding of Ethiopian Territory to Sudan. This form of secrecy of matter that determines the territorial integrity of Ethiopia, in and of itself violates EPRDF imposed Ethiopia�s Constitution of 1995.

Sudan has no superior right to the piece of land being ceded by Meles than Ethiopia has. There was no �Sudan� prior to the British occupation of the area. All the land that is now the source of the oil wealth of Sudan is as much Ethiopian Territory as it is that of the Sudan. It is a matter of forceful assertion by a patriotic government for the area is as much under the influence of Ethiopian power as maybe claimed by Darfur or Noba or Funji prior to the British occupation of the Sudan. It is a puzzle to me to witness the over eagerness of Meles Zenawi to sign off Ethiopian rights whether dealing with territories (Afar Coastal Territory and Territorial Waters on the Red Sea) or riparian or origination state�s non-navigational rights of international rivers (the Blue Nile) and lakes (Lake Tana). Here is where one�s family and home influence is of material importance. If a leader has no pride in the history of the nation and people he or she is leading, the consequence is a disaster.  

It is extremely difficult for me even to imagine ceding an inch of Ethiopian territory let alone such huge tract of land. The insidious activity of Meles Zenawi is not limited to such treasonous crimes against the territorial integrity of Ethiopia, but was extended to the violations of fundamental rights against the People of Ethiopia who have lived in those areas for generations. They were forced to defend their homes while Meles�s security force members were standing by watching Ethiopian citizens being driven off their homes and land. Shame on you! Shame!

The political entity now referred to as the Sudan is a member of the United Nations, the African Unity, the Arab League and such other international organizations. Thus, is a subject of international law, norms, and practices and not above or protected from the binding reaches of international law, norms, custom, and practices. Sudan as a political unitary organization and territory is a creation of the British colonial power that curved and constituted it out from ancient independent or semi autonomous regions including tribal homelands, which in some areas was taken away from Ethiopia�s sphere of influence or direct control. In fact, it is 1953 that Egypt and Britain signed an agreement providing for a self governing Sudan. Three years later on 1 January 1956 Sudan became an independent Country. It is dubious how any territorial claim can be lodged against Ethiopian territory by an entity whose right at best is a derivated one from the 1956 creation of the Sudan entity.

By contrast, no foreign power defined, organized, or constituted Ethiopia.  It is a matter of historical record that Ethiopia was a far larger empire that the Ottoman Turks from the 14^th Century until their demise in the 19^th Century with their surrogate the Egyptians bit off pieces from Ethiopian periphery. Ethiopia has a long history as an Empire with defined territory that did persist through out the last two thousand years. No other existing country at this time in the region has that clear territorial claim to any piece of land within its own such border let alone areas under the control of Ethiopia. The claim of Sudan and all other countries in the area on any part of Ethiopia is a dubious one. The only legitimate claim that is historically supported is that of Ethiopia, for none of the countries that we have around us were ever in existence as unites in their present forms before colonization. They were all forged from tribal holdings and/or remains of ancient long defunct political units like Nubia through the process of colonization to political entities and finally became the current states on independence.[1]

Ethiopia has a written Constitution: The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia of 1995. It is the primary obligation of the Government of Ethiopia to respect and enforce the provisions of the Constitution. But foremost, the Ethiopian Government and all of its officials and citizens must conduct themselves in matters of public interest and even private interests according to the rights, privileges, and duties provided for in the Constitution. The people of Ethiopia exercise their �sovereign� power through their direct representatives in the House of Peoples� Representatives. The Prime Minister is not directly elected by the People of Ethiopia, thus must be considered, in matters of national security and vital interest of Ethiopia, as subordinate to the House Representatives of the People of Ethiopia. The Prime Minister or none of the Ministers has independent right or privilege to change, compromise, or alienate the territorial integrity and/or sovereignty of the State of Ethiopia.

II. Ethiopian Constitution and International Treaties

The first source that one must consult on questions and/or problems dealing with boundary treaties or other international agreements, whether bilateral or multilateral, that concern or involve Ethiopia is the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia of 1995 dealing with international treaties, national defense and border security. For comparative understanding of the evolution of such Constitutional provisions one must also consider all previous Ethiopian Constitutions.  As a general remark, it is to be recalled that I have pointed out the serious deficiency of the Ethiopian Constitution both in substance and drafting technique in books and several articles, in the past. In fact, with each crises that has faced Ethiopia, technically speaking since the coming into force of the Constitution in 1995, whether dealing with questions of irregularities in elections (State or Federal), jurisdictional independence of the judiciary, issues of national security and conflicts, and/or on the power and duties of negotiation and implementation of international treaties, it is obvious that the Constitution was not carefully and wisely drafted. Despite the boastful avalanche of words by its main drafter in his book Constitution for a Nation of Nations, the Constitution remains a seriously flawed document that cannot work.

Hoping to inform Ethiopians who may not have the time to check on the Constitution to find the source for Executive power on the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements, I have identified all the relevant articles from the Constitution herein. The provisions dealing with international treaties or agreements and national security items are to be found in the following articles of the Constitution:

Article 2: Ethiopian Territorial Jurisdiction

The territorial jurisdiction of Ethiopia shall comprise the territory of the members of the Federation and its boundaries shall be as determined by international agreements.

Article 12: Conduct and Accountability of Government 

(1)   The conduct of Affairs of Government shall be transparent.

Article 48: State Border Changes

Article 50: Structure of the Organs of State

             (3) The House of Peoples� Representatives is the highest authority of the Federal Government. The House is responsible to the People�.

Article 51: Powers and Functions of the Federal Government

            (8) It shall formulate and implement foreign policy; it shall negotiate and ratify               international agreements.

Article 55: Powers and Functions of the House of Peoples� Representatives

             (12) It shall ratify international agreements concluded by the Executive.

Article 74: Powers and Functions of the Prime Minister

             (6) He exercises overall supervision over the implementation of the country�s foreign policy.

            (13) He shall obey and enforce the Constitution.

Article 77: Powers and Functions of the Council of Ministers

             (8) It shall formulate the country�s foreign policy and exercise overall supervision over its implementation.

Article 85: Objectives [general principles of governmental responsibilities and duties]

Article 86: Principles for External Relations [important general principles of foreign/international relations]

Article 87: Principles of National Defense

The language problem is clear in the above provisions. All of the duties/functions and/or powers of the organs of the Federal State or that of the organs of the Federal Government are provided for in imperative/prescriptive formats erroneously; for certain types of functions and duties may not be attached to any one individual or group by command or prescription but must be in an exclusive format. By making such important distinction we avoid the possibility of multiple players under the same Federal State function and/or duty conflicting with that of the function and/or duties of the organs of the Executive. Being commanded to do some function or being given such power to carry out such function will not of itself exclude any other entity from being given or adopting similar function and power. This is one example of very sloppy drafting of not paying attention to the problem of conflicting scope of state functions and powers both derivative and direct. In fact the American Constitution of conditionality i.e., �advice and consent� phrase is better suited in limiting executive power in constitutional provisions than what was attempted in the Ethiopian Constitution.

Article II, Section 2, paragraph 2 of the United States Constitution states:

�[The President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur...� [Emphasis mine]

One of the most pressing problems facing Ethiopians is the conspiratorial and secret dealings of Meles Zenawi and his Government with Ethiopia�s historic enemies and newly minted ones on questions of the territorial integrity and Sovereign power of Ethiopia.  Meles Zenawi has violated his own Constitution of 1995 [The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia of 1995] that requires him in Article 12 (1) to conduct the �Affairs of Government� in a manner that is visible to the Ethiopian population. To wit the article holds, �The conduct of Affairs of Government shall be transparent.� The negotiation and all subsequent agreements with the Sudanese Government has been conducted by Meles Zenawi in complete secrecy without the participation of the Council of Ministers (Article 77 (8)) or the House of Peoples� Representatives (Article 55 (12)). And further actions  of ceding of Ethiopian territory and delimitation of boundary with markers was also undertaken in secrecy at times literally in the depth of the night�s darkness. Such actions taken in secrecy are impeachable and subject to criminal charges of treason.

In Article 86 (1) the principle on the conduct of international relations on behalf of the State of Ethiopia by the �organ of Government� is clearly stated, which is �[t]o promote policies of foreign relations based on the protection of national interest and respect for the sovereignty of the country.� The rest of Article 86 subsections elaborate on that paramount principle. Meles Zenawi and his Government, officials at Foreign Ministry and the EPRDF and the Member Parties all have violated this guiding principle in Article 86. They all have committed treason in their actions or non-action dealing with the border demarcation with Eritrea and now with annexation of Ethiopian territory by Sudan. It is impossible to defend Ethiopia when the government itself is the enemy of Ethiopia.  Our fate, at least for the few of us, who are �Spartans at Thermopile� is obvious, facing the multitude army of the Arabs and the treacherous and cowardly security forces of Meles Zenawi who have abrogated their duty to the people of Ethiopia and are busy guarding a brutal traitor. Ethiopia has its Ephialtēs in Meles Zenawi.

The �armed forces of Ethiopia are required in Article 87 (3) �to protect the sovereignty of the country and carry out any responsibilities as may be assigned to them under any state of emergency��  Furthermore, the armed forces are instructed in Article 87 (5) �to carry out their functions free of any partnership to any political organization(s).� The �armed forces� of Ethiopia not only have failed in their duty to defend Ethiopian territory and sovereignty, but also have aligned themselves with one political party against all others and the people of Ethiopia in general. They have committed atrocities repeatedly all over Ethiopia defending the interest of the EPRDF and Members of that Party. The commanders and field operation officers, all have committed treasonable crimes and could be court-martialed.

The maintenance of a national state is not that easy. Ethiopia is not a gift from anyone to its people. Ethiopia is a result of great sacrifice of heroes who shade their blood and sacrificed their lives to create and maintain Ethiopia. And now we have a leader dismantling our nation and giving away pieces of it in great secrecy to our historic enemies. And this is the type of leader our learned individuals are hailing and campaigning for another term in office after he had pissed all over our sacred land for the last seventeen years. Shame on us all for allowing such a person to be our leader and letting him turn the blood sacrifice of our ancestors into water and ash.

The danger of Sudan�s creeping occupation of our land must not be undermined or overlooked. Sudan is just the spearhead for the entire Arab League nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia et cetera that are the real powers welding this particular spear aimed at our very heart, Lake Tana. The strategy of our historic enemies is to creep along little by little toward Lake Tana and getting ever closer, and finally to occupy the area with a military concerted attack of Ethiopia on some excuse when the world is in some important crises, such as a World War III and not attentive to a crises facing a poor country like ours. We are our own worst enemy, for we allowed this abomination on ourselves. Rather than strengthening ourselves through unity and democratic institutions, we end up having two successive brutal leaders and their governments that brought us to the brink of total destruction.

What is tragic is that a close reading of Article 2 of the Constitution itself seems to assert that the state of Ethiopia has no fixed boundary as yet, and that its territorial �boundaries shall be determine by international agreements.� It is one of the most egregious aspects of Meles�s Constitution that relegates our ancient country to the realm of virtual reality rather than reasserting its historic boundary lines that are well known. If any country has any dispute about our assertion of territorial extent, it is its own business. It is unique in the history of the world for a leader of a country to subject the definition his country�s boundary on negotiated settlement at some future time. The accepted process had always been to stake your claim and negotiate later if there is a challenge to your claim. It is criminal for any our leaders to self-censor our national interest for fear of future controversy. Planning to live peacefully with our neighbors is one thing, but giving up Ethiopian territories through secretive and conspiratorial process in order to avoid conflicts is completely different matter. And Meles or anybody else has no business tampering with our boundary lines.

Emperor Haile Selassie did make mistakes most seriously in the last ten years of his reign from 1965 to 1974 that gravely affected the future course of Ethiopia. The irony of the whole debacle facing Ethiopia was the fact that those last ten years of Haile Selassie�s reign were also the years that the so called Ethiopian elites, mostly children of semi urbanized peasants, had the most influence on the aging Emperor. Starting from the short-sighted advice of the Council of Ministers, specially that of the Foreign Minster, to cut relationship with Israel (in order to appease the Arabs) to concessions to the destructive Student movement lead by mostly sophomoric and narcissistic student leaders from Haile Selassie I University, Ethiopia�s foreign policy did experience steep decline there by opening the nation to great abuse by the Arab world.

I have written repeatedly that appeasement of an enemy simply encourages such enemy to become more demanding and more abusive than in earlier situations. It is also a damaging sign of weakness in a national leader and his/her government and is an open invitation to all kinds of abuse and demands by foreign governments especially Arab governments and their surrogates whose only aim is the destruction of Ethiopia. For example, Ethiopia should never have discontinued its diplomatic relationship at any time with Israel in 1967 in order to appease the demands of Arab nations. Haile Selassie as a consequence paid a great price for his error�he lost his crown, and Ethiopia as a state paid an even higher price since�the slow destruction of Ethiopia for the last thirty four years first by the brutal murderous Mengistu Hailemariam (17 years), and now by the treasonous Meles Zenaewi (17 years). I have heard all kinds of wishy-washy arguments rationalizing that monumental error of judgment and lack of courage displayed by Ethiopia�s elites, arguments ranging from the threat of the removal of the OAU (now AU) headquarters (which would have been a blessing in my book) to isolation and hardship due to oil embargo et cetera if Ethiopia had not at that time discontinued its relationship with Israel. Some even have suggested that Ethiopian Moslems would have revolted due to instigation by Arabs if Haile Selassie had not discontinued diplomatic relationship with Israel at that time. That is just hogwash. I find that supposition particularly insulting because such argument seems to suggest that Ethiopian Moslems are not patriotic when it comes to the national security of Ethiopia.

This idea of doom facing Ethiopia if it stands up against the Arabs is one of the most psychologically debilitating fiction that has no basis in reality. Ethiopia has many friends too around the world starting with its most dedicated defenders�the non-Arab members of the African Union.  One need only recall how the OAU members were opposed to the secession of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993, which lead to an acrimonious assault by Isaias Afeworki on the OAU. It is a matter of commitment, courage, and creative leadership, which will ensure the survival of Ethiopia. What we need is unity and a government fully dedicated to the interest of Ethiopia and its people.

III. Meles Zenawi [2]

Having stated my grievances against Meles Zenawi for over a decade, I am not yet satisfied. [See a summary attached below] I am left with a great puzzle, especially taking into account the recent events dealing with ceding Ethiopian Territory and abuse of Ethiopian nationals by Sudanese forces. It has been reported by eye witnesses as posted in Websites that while Sudanese forces were burning Ethiopian villages and attacking Ethiopian citizens, Meles�s Security Forces were also attacking those Ethiopians whose homes were being destroyed and their land was being taken away from them in such diabolical and treasonous ceding of Ethiopian territory. This handover of Ethiopian territory to Sudan is an outrageous act that I have to look for some rational that may explain this ultimate treason. I just simply cannot imagine any man who could hate his own �country� and people to such an extent and would do such treasonous acts repeatedly. Maybe there is some other rational explanation. May be it is due to lack of knowledge of the history of Ethiopia and the Sudan or utter ignorance of international law, custom, and norms that led Meles Zenawi to make such monumental error. May be it is a misunderstanding of the dynamics of international relations.

I believe that the most important aspects of human life are simply part of the continuum of life in general. In the human branch of this marvelous narrative of life, we have had strategies that have proved to be helpful to our survival. I am not exaggerating anything here, for the proof is all around us�all six billion of us. One such strategy is the evolution of leadership on one hand and the evolution of fellowship on the other. In the case of Ethiopia, it seems we are engaged in degrading such vital aspects of the fundamental structure of human society/community year in year out down the centuries. Of course, the consequence of such degradation is that we end up with very weak and extremely narcissistic leaders and a society/community with compromised morality and very loose networking of connections between individual members. 

Insecure and illegitimate leaders have no tolerance for diversity of views. There is no room for self-respecting public servants in a government established by such leaders. A typical example of such insecure and illegitimate leadership is that of Melea Zenawi, where you find that he has circled himself with sycophants and yes-men and yes-women. He systematically and through conspiracy drove off most of the political leaders of the TPLF, who had  lead the movement for years with a degree of independence and challenging ideas, within his Party. The most glaring example of his conspiratorial activities is the expulsion of ten Central Committee members of the TPLF from the Party, some of whom great contenders for leadership position. In such form of leadership it is not the national interest that is in the forefront, but the interest of the leader. It is important to have strong willed and principled individuals in leadership positions. We have suffered for decades now due to spineless public servants who could only advise a leader by reading first what that particular leader wants to hear. Their action cannot serve the interest of Ethiopia but that of Meles Zenawi�s. Under such polarized Court, it is impossible to find remedies to the many ills that Ethiopia is suffering.

When I reflect upon the extent to which Meles Zenawi and his Government have compromised the vital interest of Ethiopia, I sometime find myself wishing the unthinkable that Isaias Afeworki was our leader because of his singular zeal and dedication�zeal and dedication to a single national interest that characterize him best to expand �Eritrea� facing up and challenging much more entrenched neighbors (including his own mother country of Ethiopia), the United States, and the United Nations. Mind you that he has the gall to base his outrageous claims on colonial treaties, evidence not much strong than a reed. I suppose Isaias Afeworki would have been laying out claims to the oil-fields of Sudan, the ports and territories of Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia, on behalf of Ethiopia, if he were our leader rather than giving away Ethiopian land to Sudan as Meles is doing. It is no great achievement for any leader to have peace at the cost of once own territorial decomposition. Appeasement does not work at all, it simply encourages neighboring countries such as Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, and Somalia to make more and more extensive demands for more land as well as for more favorable terms on the use of international non-navigational rights on rivers originating within Ethiopia and/or lakes in Ethiopia. Look, it is Afeworki that is feared and respected by his neighbors despite his aggressive personality rather than the street smart Meles Zenawi who has compromised the interest of his own people, thus scorned.

It is not a question of enlightened behavior that distinguished the two leaders, for both are dictators and brutal toward their own people; however, there is a world of difference between the two of them when it comes to the vital interest of their respective countries. As seen from their respective national interests, Meles Zenawi is a sell-out, while Afeworki is a patriot.  If we follow Sudan�s logic as the basis of its claims to Ethiopian territory, which is based on colonial defective �treaties� and unresolved negotiations from earlier period from the time of Yohannes IV and Menilik II, and the demography of the affected regions both in the present day Eritrea and Ethiopia, the same type of claims would have been launched against Eritrea. In fact, the Beja people region of the Sudan demography stretches all the way to Keren and beyond towards the rift valley mountain crest toward Asmara. Have you ever heard of any claim by the Government of Sudan against such vast territory in Eritrea? None. Sudan is identifying Meles Zenawi as the one to go after due to his history of willingness to compromise the interest of Ethiopia the most damaging being the Algiers Agreement of 2000. We are being humiliated because of Meles Zenawi and his arada Government, in front of the World.

I expected far more opposition from the Ethiopian public in the Diaspora on the ceding of vast Ethiopian territory (Western Gondar all the way to Gojjam) to Sudan, rather than the lukewarm reaction limited to a couple of activities of collecting signatures for protest carried out by one patriotic committee led by very few Ethiopians and another committee recently issuing statements. On May 2, 2008 the Ethiopian National Congress has issued a strongly worded Press release which is more comprehensive than the previous generalized statements issued by the other committee of patriotic Ethiopians. Nevertheless, the degree of public agitation is very limited to one Website and need be expanded.

Maybe people are exhausted due to the daily grinding of living in this demanding society of the United States and else where in the Western World. At any rate, the formidable well funded propaganda and war machine of Meles�s Government is diverting the attention of Ethiopians away from such problem of Sudan using force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ethiopia. Rather than focusing his energy on the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ethiopia, Meles once again is engaged in secrecy and conspiracy giving away Ethiopian territory to prolong the life of his most hated dictatorial government. In the annals of the history of leaders the world over, ceding Ethiopian territory is going to be recorded as the most shameful act of cowardice and betrayal of a people by its own leader. Ω

Tecola W. Hagos

Washington DC

May 4, 2008

To be continued

PART TWO

III. International Law Principles and Norms

A. Uti possidetis de jure (legal possession) and uti possidetis de facto (effective possession)

B. Territorial Integrity Norm

C. Clausula rebus sic stantibus

D. Jus Cogens

IV. The Role of International Organizations

V. Notice to the Governments of Sudan and Egypt

VI. Conclusion

Note

[1] �Kush, Nubia, Maqarra, Alwa formed the earliest Sudanese kingdoms followed by the Funji, Fur and Kordofan sultanates. In 1821 the Khedive of Egypt Mohammed Ali Pasha conquered the kingdoms and the Sultanates of the Sudan and the name Sudan acquired a political meaning. It became specific term to specific area conquered and shall be conquered by the Khedive. The Mahddiya State, had used the same name. During the condominium the country was called the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan�.During the condominium the country was called the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. On Sunday the first of January 1956 emerged the official name: the Republic of the Sudan. After the coup of 1969 the name was changed to the Democratic Republic of Sudan. Again the previous title was revived. The Arab equivalent is Jumhuriat Al-Sudan. The word �The� is meant to distinguish the political entity name of Sudan from the old geographical and historical concept of word which includes the whole Sahil Region or Africa South to the Shara. Mali which was called French Sudan - beside Chad and Niger - changed the name Sudan officially short after its independence.� 

https://www.angelfire.com/ma2/yoss/sud.html as retrieved on Apr 16, 2008

P. M. HOLT, The Sudan of the Three Niles: The Funj Chronicle, 910�1288/1504�1871, Islamic History and Civilization: Studies and Texts (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1999). Pp. 228. $71.00 cloth.  Book review by Heather J. Sharkey, P. M. Holt's The Sudan of the Three Niles is an annotated translation of the Funj Chronicle, a history of the Funj sultanate (1504�1821) based at Sennar, along the Blue Nile, and of the Turco-Egyptian regime that succeeded it at Khartoum. Along with the Tabaqat of Wad Dayf Allah (a biographical dictionary of Sudanese Muslim holy men compiled in the late 18th century), the Funj Chronicle is the most important Arabic source on the northern riverain Sudan in the Funj era, a period in which Islam was spreading widely and the region was developing its pronounced Arab�Islamic identity.

[2] The most glaring examples of Meles Zenawi�s failure as a leader are the following:

1. He bred discontent and discord within the TPLF which finally resulted in a �mini� coupe within the TPLF where by veteran members of the leadership of the TPLF were summarily dismissed and thrown out of the party.
2. He manipulated the Central Committee and the Politburo members of the TPLF into endorsing his anti-Ethiopian political programs and cooperation with hostile foreign governments to the detriment of the interest of Ethiopia.
3. He caused the fragmentation and bantustanization of Ethiopia laying the groundwork for weakening the political, economic, and cultural close ties among the different ethnic groups that constituted Ethiopia, the ties that had been forged over several centuries of coexistence under one sovereign power.     
4. He had fomented disagreement and hate in between different ethnic groups thereby dividing the nation into a boiling mass of ethnic hatred and conflict.
5. He is the supreme controlling authority of the many Syndicalists business and non-profit organizations engaged in monopolistic businesses in Ethiopia and elsewhere in the world. There never been any full accounting of those organizations, and no one knows where the hundred of millions dollars and equivalent wealth is deposited, how it is moved, in whose names such accounts are held.
6. He had encumbered and betrayed Ethiopia with tremendous international legal burden by signing the Algiers Agreement of 2000, an agreement that is conspiratorial, treasonous, and criminal.
7. He had misrepresented to the Ethiopian people the state of affaires in the border demarcation process and case that was illegal presented to The Hague Boundary Commission. Because of incompetent representations, and limitations set by Meles Zenawi, the Boundary Commission had entered its illegal decision against Ethiopia.
8. He has expressed in countless monologue his own and his government�s position that the issue of the Ethiopian Afar Coastal territorial sovereignty as nothing more than a question of �port� access to the Red Sea. He has undermined thereby totally the legitimate and historic sovereignty of Ethiopia over the Afar Coastal area, the territorial waters on the Red Sea, and the human rights of the Afar people who are Ethiopian citizens.
9. He has no coherent foreign policy except reactive processes that is constantly appeasing bullies and powerful governments rather than being proactive and taking the initiative to create new allegiances and prospects in order to make decisive stand in the interest of Ethiopia..
10. He has allowed rich individuals and agents of hostile nations to penetrate the political, economic, and cultural life of Ethiopia, where by our national security and our national pride had been dealt a sever blow. 
11. He has repeatedly violated and circumvented our Constitutional procedures meant to guarantee proper hearing and notice to the Ethiopian public about all major international agreements or decisions affecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia.
12. He has corrupted and subverted the judicial system of the country through his appointment of partisan TPLF members or supporters as judges; moreover, he has interfered in specific cases before the highest courts of the nation. At times he had blatantly refusing direct court orders to free prisoners.
13. He has been repeatedly accused of the murder, torture, or disappearances of Ethiopians who may have opposed his political ambition, and had never fully answered to such accusations.
14. He has detained thousands of Ethiopians without court order for an extended period under brutal living conditions thereby affecting the health and well-being of thousands of Ethiopians. Most importantly, he has violated the human rights of Ethiopians guaranteed by the Charter of the United Nations and numerous Resolutions of the General Assembly, and the Ethiopian Constitution. Furthermore, he has choked all forms of freedoms of speech and expression by incarcerating publishers and reporters under a draconian press law.
15.  He has put in place an education program that has caused tens of thousands of young Ethiopians without a future, without training, and without hope.
16. He has put in place an economic program that is syndicalist, monopolistic, and adverse to competition and hard work
17. He has put in place rural development and agriculture policy that had a stifling effect on small farmers, who are blackmailed for political reason at all level by the bureaucracy.  Under his administration, Ethiopia has been exposed to a series of famines and is in a state of extreme poverty.  Et cetera
18. He had allowed the enemies of Ethiopia to infiltrate Ethiopia's military forces thereby compromising the national security and defense strategy and tactics by appointing high military commanders whose loyalty to Ethiopia and the defense of Ethiopia's territorial integrity is highly questionable and manifestly suspect.
19. He has degraded deliberately the defense capacity of the nation by removing seasoned commanders and great veteran soldiers from the Ethiopian defense forces. And had failed from upgrading and replacing acutely needed military weapon systems especially Ethiopia's Air force.
20. He had allowed moral deterioration and massive prostitution in Ethiopia adding to the spread of AIDS. He had failed to defend the honor and individual human rights of Ethiopian women who are forced under inhuman conditions to work in the Middle East. He had abandoned Ethiopia's poor children to live in squalor and dehumanizing conditions on the streets of Addis Ababa and other urban centers. 

[Tecola W. Hagos, �Election 2005, Ethiopia:  No Vote for Meles Zenawi!� www.tecolahagos.com,  May 11, 2005.  https://www.justiceinethiopia.net/tecolahagoseditorial.htm as retrieved on Apr 13, 2008.]