The Flynn ‘lock her up’ fiasco and the parallels in today’s Ethiopia

By M. Gettaw
Tigrai Online, Dec. 6, 2018

Of course, the Premier and his allies (Demeke and Gedu) and his puppet (Muferyat) will also see the wrath of justice as the struggle for constitutional rule prevails.

Among the most fascinating developments in the US is the release of the sentencing document of Mike Flynn by the Special Counsel. People are widely talking about the things that are redacted from the document which might incriminate people higher up in the US government. The general who ridiculed himself by shouting ‘locker her up’ to his political opponent at that time, Hilary Clinton, is now begging to avoid the specter of ‘being locked up’ for his criminal activities. It is an amazing development that didn’t take more than two years to unwrap. I see clear parallels in the recent Ethiopian law enforcement landscape.

The parallel happening in Ethiopia is not just by one person but many ‘Flynns’ who are chanting ‘lock them up’ against their political opponents. It’s orchestrated by the security and legal apparatus of the Premier and propagated by government friendly media outlets (EBC, Walta, Fana, ESAT, VoA, DW). These media outlets are broadcasting documentary that tarnishes the name of the accused (in complete contradiction of media rules and habeas corpus rights of people) with no corroborative evidence. People like Mr. Dedeffo, Gen. Zeynu and other accusers are ganging up to say whatever is popular at this time like what Flynn did during the US election. The most common chant during Trumps rallies was ‘lock her up’ and Flynn fell for that in a very public way which made him a laughing stock of his comrades in the military and security apparatus. Today, ‘lock Tegaru up’ is the common chant among the loudest voices and the Zeynus are falling for that. The good news is that their testimony and accusations are falling apart in no time when the AG told the court that METEC was never audited. Where did these guys get the $37billion figure then? Which auditor gave them the number?

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Another Flynn in the Ethiopian episode is the AG, Mr. Berhanu, himself. A guy who had been a big player in the government (in the Ministry of justice) that is being labeled as ‘dark and barbaric’ is now leading the politics of revenge and hate against his former comrades in ‘crime’. A few years back (see video evidence) he unequivocally told us that his government never imprisons anyone without fair trial and that his government can’t tolerate torture. But, he is now leading the chant and act of ‘lock them up’ for crimes that he said didn’t exist. Which one of his words do we believe? Like Flynn, Berhanu is also becoming the laughing stock of his friends and lost his credibility big time. But, what goes around would come around to haunt him like it did to Flynn.

The AG has also officially become a state instrument to hunt down anyone who even has legitimate issues with the new government. When the Somali region had disputes with Oromia, the people accused and thrown to jail are leaders and businessmen of the Ethio Somalia region. Now again, in the dispute between Benishangul and Oromia, the ones to be hunted down are leaders and businessmen of the Benishangul region. No one from the Oromia region is being accountable for all the mayhem being committed in the bordering regions. This shows that the AG is working at the orders of Lemma and his security apparatus which is not surprising as he is an OPDO cadre. But, this will also come to haunt him.

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Of course, the Premier and his allies (Demeke and Gedu) and his puppet (Muferyat) will also see the wrath of justice as the struggle for constitutional rule prevails. If they are thinking that day would never come then they are sleeping on a tree like what Meles (RIP) used to say.

Last but not least, I wouldn’t conclude without expressing my frustration with the Ethiopian military. I am afraid to say that the military is slowly succumbing to becoming an instrument of coercion and revenge attacks under the pretext of national security. It is unbecoming of the institution to participate in jailing of people while it is sitting idle when people’s homes and life is burnt in day light in the Amhara region. There will be time to account for such behavior if it continues unabated. Time to rethink the involvement of the military in civilian politics.

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