In a recent interview with journalists, foreign minister Seyoum Mesfin complained against the UN for not calling a spade a spade, referring to the UN's deaf ear on Eritrea's aggression and the breaching of the peace accord. I could not help but wonder if the Prime Minster of Ethiopia shared Mesfin's frustration and rage. If he does, (although most of you might doubt), wouldn't you wonder if the Prime Minister himself does call a spade a spade? Or “a revenge” is “a revenge”-- not campaign against corruption, or not the newly baptized hybrid word “tehadeso” (“renewal”). The family feud among the elite party officials of the TPLF has no doubt left intense bitterness and resentment among the warring groups. It would be obvious to guess the victorious group would try to use every political or legal means to subdue, and further mutilate the remaining dissident group. Although this might sound only natural in under-developed “democracies” such as ours, what makes it sad and hopeless is the hypocrisy employed to justify a full act of revenge as a legal means of prosecution. The sad part of this saga is the human beings used as legal pawns to derive a formula for a make believe corruption scandal.
In a country used to spicy foods, a spiced up corruption case with alleged business people would make a hate-driven case more believable to the eye of the public. On top of this, if any or some of the business people accused are related in any manner to the dissidents on target, that would surely make it a sealed and truly spiced up corruption case ready for delivery.

But, like all other fake allegations, the publicly advertised drama had its moments and started to fade like a poorly painted picture on a billboard. Even worse, it soon started to look obnoxious to the originally intended audience, the public in general. The whole case became a fiasco and a mocking ground for tabloids.

It is not to say that corruption is alien to our country, nor to say that corruption should not be rooted out from the country. But using the public outcry against corruption for a politically motivated revenge against political dissidents, and even worse, including innocent citizens of the business community as scapegoats to a politically motivated agenda is far from being “renewed”. The end result is a total scare to the business community and lost hopes and shattered dreams for the investment and future of the country. The point I am trying to make is, what would prevent a potential investor or a business entrepreneur or for that matter any enterprising person from being falsely accused?

By no means am I an investigative journalist, not even a writer. But, I was very saddened by what I heard from some of the falsely accused business entrepreneurs, and felt very much to share it with future potential investors and the concerned citizens in general. The case involves some of the business entrepreneurs, who are being used as scapegoats on a highly publicized “corruption” trial of Seiye Abraha, who is the most significant political dissenter in the recent split of the TPLF leadership. It is no secret to an average individual that this person is in prison mainly for his political disagreements with the current leadership. And it is widely believed the infamous anti-corruption law, which denies the right of bail for corruption suspects, was rushed through the corridors of the legislative house to the courts before it even was proclaimed on the 'Negarit Gazeta' (gazette) just to keep this individual in jail. The so-called “accomplices” (the business people) had also to receive the same fate, where they would never see any fair trail from then on.

It is close to eight months now, that these business people are being shown on TV screens but no one knows what is going on in the court proceedings, thus frustrating and sending quivering fear to the business community. Everybody is afraid that, if by some mistake or some association they end up in these courts, the same fate could befell them. There used to be a general belief that one is innocent until proven guilty but, in this drama, guilty or not you pay the price, and then God knows what next. The only clear “crime” for some of the business people (at least for the ones I know) is why they accepted their government's call on privatization and managed to win some of the auctions. And of course, what would put them in prison from the ones outside jail, (besides the double standards employed for foreign investors, such as BGI), is that one of them is brother-in-law, to the General Manager of the Privatization Agency and the other a former prison buddy. And no matter how innocent they are, a political system that is so much used on passing a verdict by ballot and agitation through instruments locally called “Baytos”(Kangaroo Courts), presumes them guilty regardless of their innocence.

We heard so much about the supremacy of law and the necessary conditions setup for investment and prosperity such as peace and stability. But we see things run to the contrary on the judicial, political and social lively hood of our daily lives. The world has yet to hear of a country developed through propaganda and public defamation campaigns. An injustice done to one of us is an injustice done to all of us. We do not need to wait and take turns until it happens to all of us. We all should ask ourselves before we commit ourselves, and make sure what is advertised is really implemented. And most of all there should be a binding supreme law that is not changed by individuals at will. Please stay tuned for I will try to show you with some proof some of the cover-ups, outright deceits and revenges being played by some of pertinent government bodies, courts, and powerful individuals in this regard.