Ethnic Federalism in a Dominant Party State: The Ethiopian Experience 1991-2000 Lovise Aalen R 2002: 2 Ethnic Federalism in a Dominant Party State: The Ethiopian Experience 1991-2000 Lovise Aalen Report R 2002: 2 Chr. Michelsen Institute Development Studies and Human Rights CMI Reports This series can be ordered from: Chr. Michelsen Institute P.O. Box 6033 Postterminalen, N-5892 Bergen, Norway Tel: + 47 55 57 40 00 Fax: + 47 55 57 41 66 E-mail: [email protected] Web/URL:http//www.cmi.no Price: NOK 125 + postage ISSN 0805-505X ISBN 82-8062-010-9 Indexing terms Political power Political parties Constitutions Ethiopia © Chr. Michelsen Institute 2002 CMI Acknowledgements Throughout the work with this study I have been privileged to have access to many people whom I could consult, be encouraged by and obtain information from. As a student at Chr. Michelsen Institute, I have benefited greatly from the advice of Siegfried Pausewang. He has been particularly helpful in my understanding of the Ethiopian context and so-called “empirical issues”. I would also like to express my gratitude to the other staff at Chr. Michelsen Institute for providing me with facilities and including me in their research environment. My supervisor at Department of Comparative Politics (University of Bergen), Jan Oskar Engene, has given me prompt and clear feedback on my drafts all the way. As a generalist more than an Ethiopianist, he has asked me the right questions to make this study accessible also for people who have no pre- knowledge of Ethiopia. I would like to thank Kjetil Tronvoll at Norwegian Institute of Human Rights in Oslo for facilitating the contact with Department of Political Science and International Relations at Addis Ababa University. Tronvoll was also kind to introduce me to many of his informants in Tigray region, and he allowed me to use “his” interpreter in Tigray. I owe many thanks to several people at Department of Political Science and International Relations in Addis Ababa. Among them are the department head Asnake Kefale, Yacob Asano, Aklilu Abraham and Merera Gudina, who all took the time to discuss a range of issues with me and helped me with practical matters during my stay in Ethiopia. Finally, I would like to express gratitude to my interpreters and all the people who were willing to share their views with me during my field work in Ethiopia. vii CMI List of abbreviations AAPO All-Amhara Peoples Organisation ANDM Amhara National Democratic Movement APDO Afar People’s Democratic Organisation BGPDUF Benishangul-Gumuz People’s Democratic United Front CAFPDE Coalition of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia EDP Ethiopian Democratic Party EDUP Ethiopian Democratic Union Party EPRDF Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front EPRP Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party GPDF Gambella People’s Democratic Front HF The House of the Federation HNL Harari National League HPR House of Peoples’ Representatives OLF Oromo Liberation Front ONC Oromo National Congress OPDO Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation SEPDC Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Coalition SEPDF Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Front SNNPRS Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State TGE Transitional Government of Ethiopia TPLF Tigray People’s Liberation Front WPE Workers Party of Ethiopia viii CMI Figure 1.1 Overview map of Ethiopia Source: Perry Castaneda Library Map Collection (www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ethiopia.html) ix CMI x CMI Chapter 1: Introduction Federalism the Ethiopian way Federalism was introduced in Ethiopia in 1991 when the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) came to power and launched the idea of “self-determination for the nationalities”, up to and including secession, devolving political, administrative and economic power to ethnically defined regional states. The 1994 constitution assured that both the federal and the regional governments have their own legislative, judicial and executive power and the right to levy taxes and allocate budgets. The federal government with a bicameral parliament and a constitutional president was assigned the responsibility of national defence, foreign relations, and the setting of national standards for major policies. Regional governments, governed by the state president/chief executive and the state council and the woreda (district) councils, was empowered to establish its own administration and formulate and execute economic, social and political strategies and plans. The most comprehensive rights of the regions, however, were probably the powers to adopt their own constitution, and if certain conditions were fulfilled, to secede from the federation. The federalisation of Ethiopia was introduced after a long period of attempted centralisation in the country and was received with both hope and scepticism from the international community and political groupings within the country. Certain Western academics considered “ethnic federalism” as innovative, “giving room for thinking differently about ethnicity in the political evolution in Africa” (Chabal and Daloz 1999: 58), while others saw it as a recipe for state disintegration (Ottaway 1994). But during ten years of federalisation, the Ethiopian state has neither disintegrated nor eradicated conflicts between ethnic groups in the country. Instead, the most prevalent political development during this period is the consolidation of a centralised party rule along with the formalisation of a federal system, a development which implies an apparent paradox. According to fundamental federal theory (Duchacek 1987: 330; Elazar 1987: 178), centralised party rule and genuine federalism are incompatible because the presence of an all-powerful party inevitably centralises power and undermines regional autonomy. This thesis aims at analysing the functioning and implementation of a federal political system within a dominant party system. Through the study of the legal and institutional devolution that is taking place in the country, elements of federalism and federation de jure will be identified. Furthermore, the relationship between formal structures and actual implementation (federation de facto) is explored in a federal – regional context. Answers will be sought to the following research questions: 1. In what ways does the Ethiopian federal model de jure correspond or conflict with the central principles of federalism and the dominant practices of established federal systems? 1 CMI 2. What are the de facto relations between the federal and regional levels of government in Ethiopia, and what determines the nature of these relations? A history of struggles between central and regional forces A central issue in Ethiopian politics past and present is the struggle between regional and central forces. During the imperial era, the struggle was expressed through continuous disputes between the central king or Emperor and the regional lords and princes (Bahru Zewde1 1991). When the Marxist military junta came to power in 1974, the ethnically based movements replaced the lords and princes as regional forces. When the EPRDF took power in 1991, the ethnic liberation movements conquered the centre and regional forces apparently defeated the central elite. This account, however, shows that the EPRDF’s conquest of the centre did not necessarily imply a real victory for the regional forces, but the appearance of a new central elite made up of previous regional forces (Teshale Tibetu 1995). This scenario constitutes the context in which the implementation of a federal system is carried out in Ethiopia today. Ethiopia as historical exception Although many outside observers today see Ethiopia as a country of famine, war, autocratic rule and internal strife, the Horn of Africa state has long been regarded as a land of legend and exceptionality. Ethiopia is considered to be an anomaly on the African continent with its early adoption of Christianity, imperial rule, written language and plough agriculture. The fact that it was the only country in Africa that remained independent during the colonial era adds to the image of Ethiopia as unique. The Pan-Africanist movement considered Ethiopia to be “the shrine enclosing the last sacred spark of African freedom, the impregnable rock of black resistance against white invasion, a living symbol, an incarnation of African independence” (Teshale Tibetu 1995: xv). Among scholars of Ethiopian history, however, there are controversies on the nature of the Ethiopian state and the role of the state building elite in the Abyssinian2 highlands of the country. The main discussion among students of the Ethiopian past is whether the country is an ancient, unified entity created through incorporation and assimilation or a relatively young state made by conquest and internal colonisation. The first kingdom in the Abyssinian highlands was established in the 1st century A.D. and was located in Axum, Tigray. Christianity was adopted as early as in the 4th century, but declined when the Muslims took control of the 1 When I refer to Ethiopian authors, I use both first and second names. Ethiopian second names are not family names, as in the European tradition, but the first name of the person’s father. By only referring to the second name, as I do with non-Ethiopian authors, misunderstandings could occur, and one is led to believe that it is the father of the person one is talking about, and not the author himself. 2 Abyssinia is the ancient name of the homelands of the Amhara and the Tigre in the northern and central highlands of Ethiopia. The Amhara and Tigrinya speaking highlanders also called themselves Habesha (Donham and James 1988: 23) The Amhara was the dominant part of the Abyssinian complex, so I therefore use the names Amhara and Abyssinian indiscriminately through the text. 2 CMI Red Sea trade in the 7th century. The building of the modern Ethiopian state, as we know it today, did not begin until the mid-19th century, after the instability and rivalling of the Zemana Mesafent3 (Era of the Princes) had ended. When Emperor Tewodros II came to power in 1855, he managed to limit the power of the regional princes and established a national army with modern arms.