Our leaders to be sentenced today!

It is expected the sham trial which has been dragging for years will end with sentencing today. It is to be remembered that the kangaroo court has found our leaders “guilty as charged”, most of them with not less than five capital crimes. According to the Ethiopian constitution one of the charges is enough to carry life in prison upto death penalty. We have also learnt the Attorney General has requested for maximum punishment, the death penalty. For those of us who have been following the funny trial for almost two years, the plea by Shemeles Kemal for death penalty is not a surprise at all. It logically follows injustice from the very beginning ends with injustice. Shemeles also appealed on those 55 whose charges were dropped back in May 2007.

The agony here is when we feel there is still a way out from this impasse, Meles seems to be determined we go back to square one. When those 55 prisoners were released, we were like “atleast”. And then comes the “agreement” between our leaders and Zenawi. We thought we were about to move one step ahead. Before we could even have the time to think about the future and how we could move forward, the PM denied any agreement or negotiation with the prisoners in the parliament. A naïve person like me thought, well may be they want the court to finish its game and make Zenawi come out as a hero by making a “pardon”. But no, this doesn’t seem to be the plan (atleast at the moment). All this time, we have been getting the propaganda against our leaders through Zenawi and once in a while through Bereket Simon (forgetting our cyber Zenawi, Aigaforum). But yesterday we got Radio Fana back in business which has been gone for quite a while regarding this issue. In fact the station was working full time misinforming and huge propaganda against those we elected during the first few months in the post election. The “good” journalists out there seem to give every “patent” to Zenawi and co. to talk about issues regarding our leaders after their imprisonment. A day before sentencing, Zenawi felt like feeding the propaganda through his hatred masterminds at the radio station. There we had a long “talk” which I could not tolerate to finish the whole program. They were trying to tell us even if the prisoners get out of prison, “their sins will never be forgotten” and wanted to tell us our leaders “begged” for their release. I really do not know what to call this.

Let’s say Zenawi is ready to release the prisoners (like it or not, for everyone’s sake especially for Zenawi’s sake – he has learnt the hardest way he will never have a single peace of mind while our leaders are in there, their release will happen sooner than later). Let’s just say Zenawi is ready to release them, why would Radio Fana come up with such propaganda at this time? Whom would it benefit? I thought the whole thing was to move forward. I mean Zenawi is going to do it not because he wants our leaders out of prison. It is just there is no way out! If that is going to happen, why so much hatred? Wouldn’t it be good if they could just put their energy on how to get back to the people they lost long ago? I mean, as a journalist, shouldn’t it be their job to know their audience? It is us they are talking to! Ofcourse this has never been their trend, they never cared for the audience but for once couldn’t they do better at this moment? Not doing what they did yesterday was more than we could ask. This is just like the so lost millennium propaganda. Day in day out, all the government media talks about the millennium “celebration”. The propaganda has become an ugly song you just want to avoid from getting into your ears. I wish they could just make a stop and think to whom they are making a crow cry. What happened yesterday at Radio Fana is no different than the ugly song to your ears. It will never do any good but shed its darkness in the Ethiopian history.

Coming back to they court, here is my shot. The sentencing will go according to plan, God forbid for even just saying it but even death sentencing may be passed. (For history sake it would have been good if the Attorney General just drops the case at the instant but I find it very unlikely for these guys do not care darkness on our history).
After sentencing, Zenawi would just bring out the agreement he said never happened. Make the “amnesty” through the president and try to make it look like it was never a political case. For your information, the prison administration is making other selected (non political) prisoners fill a form for amnesty which shall be submitted to the president and be granted during the “millennium”. Zenawi could just do it in any way he likes, we just want our leaders out of prison (freed*). Most of all, it is better he do it adding no-more fuel to the already burning flame inside us. Let’s face it, this is for everybody’s benefit.

*I try to avoid “freed” in many part of my article regarding our leaders as it is giving me a wrong impression to what Zenawi might be thinking after he releases them. As I always say, let them go out from that miserable place and what follows shall be dealt accordingly.

See you after court.