NAIROBI: Ethiopian opposition figures and some other African activists on Tuesday criticised a remark by President Barack Obama that Ethiopia, whose ruling party won every seat in parliament in May elections, has a “democratically elected” government.

Obama, who made the comment during a news conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Monday, departed Ethiopia to end a two-nation African trip that included a stop in Kenya.

On Tuesday, in a speech delivered from the headquarters of the African Union, he urged African leaders to uphold democratic rights. “Yesterday he was a tricky and mischievous politician,” Yonathan Tesfaye, a spokesman for Ethiopia’s opposition Blue party, said in a reference to Obama’s comment that Ethiopia’s government was democratically elected. “And today he has become a passionate inspirational human rights activist,” Tesfaye said, citing Obama’s remarks to the African Union.

“Which one should we believe? Which one should we go with? “Merara Gudina, a leading opposition figure in Ethiopia, said he was doubtful that the United States would push hard for democratic change in his country and expressed concern that Obama’s visit would end up being “another public relations exercise”. Human rights groups have criticised Obama for visiting Ethiopia, saying his trip lends legitimacy to an oppressive government. Ethiopia is the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists in Africa, after Eritrea, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Hailemariam, the Ethiopian prime minister, has defended Ethiopia’s commitment to democracy and said the country needed “ethical journalism,” not reporters that “pass the line” and work with “terrorist groups”.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2015

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