THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 13, 1996 TAG: 9608130001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By DESTA DAMTEW
LENGTH: 68 lines
The bombing at the American Air Force complex in Saudi Arabia by terrorists cost 19 Americans their lives and injured more than 300 other officials.
In responding to the problem of terrorism, the emphasis appears to be on the symptoms and quick fixes rather than on the critical problems and long-lasting solutions. Accordingly, most of the strategies being proposed do not appear to be carefully thought out and seriously crafted.
As reported in the media, the major problem is the close identification of the U.S. government with the ruling family of Saudi Arabia. The Americans are being targeted by those who feel they are siding with a ruling class which may not be legitimate and democratic. If such conditions prevail in a country, the prudent policy should be to strictly adhere to the democratic principles of the United States and stand with the democratic forces within the government, if any, and/or within peaceful opposition groups in and outside of the country.
Such a firm and principled stand would cultivate good will on the part of the governed toward the United States. Those in power could also benefit from adhering to democratic practices, since they could enhance the trust of their own people.
Scrutiny of U.S. policy over several decades reveals that the U.S. government has sided with dictatorial regimes in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Rhodesia, South Africa, Nigeria, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Regrettably, this state of affairs continues even after the other superpower, the U.S.S.R., has disintegrated.
The United States is in an enviable position. As sole superpower, it should be able to influence dictatorial regimes to adopt democratic practices. Yet the United States has not promoted the democratization process in some of the countries mentioned above.
For instance, the democratization process initiated in Ethiopia, with the blessing and sponsorship of the United States after the overthrow of the Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, has been completely aborted.
The pseudo-Marxist groups which assumed power in Ethiopia and Eritrea with the help of an odd combination of countries including the United States, Israel, Iraq, Libya and Sudan, reneged on their promises for democratization by denying participation in the political processes by credible opposition parties.
Amnesty International, Africa Watch, the European Community Parliament, objective foreign journalists and prominent U.S. citizens who are familiar with the situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea have documented the anti-democratic practices and inhumane deeds of the current regimes.
However, the U.S. government continues its policy of total support, citing unreasonable excuses such as ``these groups are a little better than Mengistu.'' Such unpalatable explanations will not hold water when human-rights violations are generating hostility toward the regimes and their sponsoring governments and institutions.
The situation in Saudi Arabia may appear a little different, due to the fact that the economic conditions of the Saudi people are not comparable to the situations in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The tremendous oil revenues may help keep the majority of the Saudi people from resorting to widespread hostility and violence.
However, what happened on June 25 should be taken as a warning bell. It would be prudent to design long-term and effective strategies to avoid the occurrence of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in the region. MEMO: Desta Damtew is a professor of accounting at Norfolk State
University, a citizen of Ethiopia and a member of the Coalition for
Democratic Forces in that nation. He has discussed U.S. policy toward
Africa with former President Carter and as adviser for President
Clinton. by CNB