The invitation of Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to Columbia University (CU) in New York has attracted a lot of attention from the Ethiopian and American media. CU's invitation has been another honor for a dictator that has brought so much pain and suffering to many people of his own country. But this is not the first. Meles has been invited to many western conferences and summits like the G20 and G8, shaking hands with President Obama and many ELECTED leaders of world. What makes CU's invitation different is that it is an independent academic institution that, unlike western summits and westerns leaders, is not expected to be "politically correct" or defend selfish American interests (like "War on Terror") at the expense of supporting dictators.
Still, the shame of inviting a brutal dictator can be replaced by praise for CU if the university officialls trully make the podium a "neutral" place for dialogue and questions. According to Columbia University Director of Media Relations Robert Hornsby, there will an open QUESTION-AND-ANSWER period after the dictator finishes his speech. It is time for Columbia's World Leaders Forum (WLF) to prove to the world that it will respect its own mission to “advance lively, uninhibited dialogue” by asking the dictator these top 12 questions that us Ethiopians will never be able to ask.
- Question # 1. You were "elected" once again to be chairman of Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) after 25 years. Was nobody else qualified to lead your party during over a quarter of a century?
- Question # 2. You installed a policy of "ethnic federalism" in Ethiopia the last 15 years to allegedly stabilize the country but why has ethnic-based opposition to your government increased?
- Question # 3. BBC's last report said your TPLF group stole food aid money meant for the starving people in Tigray (region of ethiopia) in 1980s, to buy weapons. Do you regret for your actions that led to the death of thousands of starving people from your own ethnic group?
- Question # 4. Your TPLF rebel group used civilians as human shield in Hawzen town during your war against previous president Mengistu Haile Mariam. Your "court" accused Mengistu of genocide for bombing civilians then, but why was your military doing the same bombing in Ogaden region and in Somalia?
- Question # 5 Do you still believe ordering your security agents to massacre around 200 Ethiopians during the 2005 post-election was a good idea?
- Question # 6 Why do you always harass journalists and why does Ethiopia has only one television station while even lawless Somalia has many?
- Question # 7. Why are you against privatization of land in Ethiopia?
- Question # 8. Your former defense minister said Ethiopia's prisons are filled predominantly with ethnic Oromo political prisoners. Are you worried the international criminal court (ICC) could file charges against you for ethnic cleansing?
- Question # 9. Why are over 80% of your country's top army generals from your Tigrayan ethnic group when Tigrayan people make up only 6% of the Ethiopian population?
- Question # 10. Your election board said your party won over 99% of parliament seats during the latest national election which the EU and US said was rigged. Do you think this reflects a growing democracy?
- Question # 11. If over 99% of Ethiopians really support you, why is your government in war in many corners of the country and why so many Ethiopians protest against you all the time?
- Question # 12. Why do more millions of Ethiopians need food aid today under your government than during the previous Mengistu government you toppled?
Columbia's World Leaders Forum (WLF) will regain its respectability among Ethiopians worldwide and other people only if such questions are asked of the dictator on campus AND if Columbia University shows neutralilty by inviting an Ethiopian opposition leader to speak as well and provide the other view of the reality inside Ethiopia/Africa. Since our main opposition leader Judge Birtukan Mideksa is also in prison, Columbia University can invite one of the other leaders of Medrek party, the largest opposition group in Ethiopia.
History will judge Columbia University if it contributes to the suffering and the genocide in Ethiopia by emboldening a dictator, or if it stands with the people of Ethiopia, with justice and democracy.
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