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Open letter to the Attorney General of Ethiopia M Gettaw, July 16, 2018 It is my belief that the constitutional order of the country is being violated by the unholy coalition of certain political players in Ethiopia. There is brazen attack and violence on the constitutional rights of individuals and groups. This violence is being fueled by people and media from both inside and outside of the country. It is very sad and barbaric to see a citizen of Ethiopia crucified in the middle of the day while the institutions that are supposed to maintain peace and order watch idly. Even worse, the spokespersons of the Federal and regional government where these barbaric events are happening did not provide unequivocal denouncement of the perpetrators of the violence and barbaric acts. It is concerning to see the Police Commissioner of Shashemene spend almost an hour talking about tangential issues like burning of a police car and stampede when a citizen is crucified barbarically under his watch as the security head of the city. It is pathetic to see the spokesman of Oromia region spent a lot of time passing blame to others when there is clear video and witnesses about who the vigilante mobs are. We have not heard much from the PM of the country either. My guess is they are all afraid of the Queeros – as Jowar put it the second government in Ethiopia. However, as the top law officer of the country the AG needs to express its stance clearly and open investigations towards the perpetrators of these attacks. More brazen and politically dangerous is the declaration by Jowar on TV of, (1) the existence of two governments in Ethiopia (PM Abiy and Queero), (2) the sheer bravado that Jowar and his Queero could dismantle the current government within two weeks, (3) the sheer bravado that Jowar and his group could have overthrown the EPRDF government and that they chose the less of two options. These are clear violations of constitution and are dangerous. The fact that Jowar is a US citizen and that he is declaring these on TV in Ethiopia during a time when is a special guest of the new PM makes me wonder whether there is some form of collusion between these groups. Thus, I call upon the Attorney General of Ethiopia to investigate whether these constitute constitutional violations or not. I also call upon the media and legal scholars to debate such deeply concerning issues before the country is setback to dictatorship and lawlessness.
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