Civic Movements

Their Roles In Democratizing Society

Introduction:

If there is anything that has pre-occupied the minds of many concerned and patriotic Ethiopians, it is the dream of establishing and building democratic institutions, culture and political system. However, very few seem to understand that those noble ideas and dreams cannot be realized without the growth and development of civic institutions. The building of a sustainable and stable democratic political system, including its growth and development goes hand in hand, with growth and development of civic institutions. Democracy cannot be brought about by declarations and public pronouncements, and for it to work and for institutions to flourish, the existence of civic organizations is a pre-requisite.

Civic groups can defend their rights and the rights of others and they can challenge and resist unjust and illegal practices by a government or a group. Democracy without active civic participation becomes a hollow idea or empty policy declaration behind which dictators of every color and hue cover them selves to maintain their power. Democratization of a society without civic institutions is expecting what was never before and that will never be in the future. Unfortunately in Ethiopia now, the growth and development of civic organizations is at a rudimentary stage when it needs careful and consciously cultivated attention. However, the problem faced by civic movements in the country rests not only on their limited development but also on the lack of understanding what their roles and functions are and should be. The public understanding of civic movements, including by some proponents of civic movements, is scanty. It lends itself to confusion and different expectations.

The difficulties of understanding about civic movements can be best explained in terms of the formation coming to age of the Ethiopian National Congress (ENC) as a civic organization. The formation of the ENC in 1997 is no doubt a milestone in the history of Ethiopian civic movements. Its formation as a civil organization heralded the coming of age of the public in the political life of the country. ENC strongly embraces the idea of advocacy on important issues that affect the country and its people. In 1997 it came out declaring policies that challenge the undemocratic and anti-unity policies of the EPDRF in power. While advocating for human and individual rights of people, ENC fully embraced the idea of uniting the political opposition for national unity and establishing democratic governance. However, by many people have misunderstood its tireless work with the opposition political parties, and remain so even to this day. They perceive the activism of the ENC for social justice, national unity and the unity of the political opposition as a simple activism of a political organization. That is, challenging government policies, once considered only the purview of political organizations, is seen to be beyond what the ENC should be doing.

It should be clear from the outset that such political activism does not by any means change the character of ENC as a civic organization. It should be clear that the ENC has no political program. Nor does it aspire for political office. It seeks to attain social power and relational power with which to influence public policy. Ultimately, that is the strategic interest and goal of ENC as a civic organization. That is exactly what ENC would like to do and is doing.

What is a Civic Movement any way?

It is critically important to present readers very clearly what a civic organization is all about. To put it succinctly “civicus” or civics is a Latin word for "citizen". In the role a civic movement plays in democratization of a country, it is a process that sets in motion the best of what organized citizens can offer to their citizenry and to themselves. It is a process of freeing the abundant human energy, creative and inexhaustible resources of citizens from restrictive behaviors and forces such as those imposed by political parties. Its purpose is improving the general well-being and human and individual rights of a citizenry by creating deep awareness of their rights, responsibilities and duties. Voluntary participation in public affairs and interests are the essences of civic organizations. Civic Organizations are voluntary associations where people have the opportunity to effectively utilize their abundant resources for the public good, for social justice and for the betterment of themselves.

Generally, the work of civic organizations can be understood in terms of their engagements and greater activism in at least three areas.

1. Civil Virtue: Civil Virtue is the moral principle of a civic movement in developing and enhancing the fundamental values of democracy, social justice, individual and human rights, equality and the public good. Involving diverse groups of people for the common good, with the purpose of binding them into an integral democratic polity, is the underlying principle of civil virtue. Civic Organizations help to educate citizens about their rights and responsibilities and they help combat or change policies that lack these principles of civil virtue.

Committed participation that comes out of a free will can achieve miracles and reach goals faster and easier. But we all know that voluntary work and voluntary organizations for the public good in Ethiopia are not that developed. Furthermore, due to the negative and traumatic experience that people have undergone in the past thirty years or so with regard to organized activity, many have developed mistrust, over-cynicism and apathy. These attitudes have taken away the elements essential for the growth and development of civic movement. Critical in these essential elements are trust and respect for each other's integrity, wisdom, intelligence and competency. Many of us lack faith in each other's capacity to struggle in cooperation and in solidarity. The cumulative effect of such cynicism has incapacitated many capable people. It has forced them into watching in paralysis; into not doing any thing. Many intelligent and resourceful people watch the unfolding of events in their beloved country helplessly and painfully, because they have been subdued by their own fears and cynical views and attitudes. What an incapacitating disease has possessed and consumed many of us! What a formidable enemy has tied our hands, closed our eyes, mouths and minds to the desperate calls of our people! How can we forget and ignore the unimaginable poverty and destitution to which our people are subjected? How can we not do something about the ridiculously massive proliferation of AIDS that is killing more than 1,370 people daily? What a shame and what a disgrace to all of us who have lost faith in our capacity to change things and have forgotten that our salvation and liberation comes in organizing, unity and solidarity! Some one once said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Here, we must congratulate the few brave and determined Ethiopians who carry the brunt of the struggle, persisting and making some dents in the long years of oppression. Those of us procrastinating behind our fears and cynicism should take a moment to think the consequences of our silence and action. Ethiopians must pledge afresh to commit ourselves to the struggle for the good of our people. The saying goes “If not now, when? If not we, who?”

3. Civic Knowledge: Constant exposure to a mass of fragmented and unrelated knowledge can lead to apathy, indifference, or political gridlock. Ignorance can achieve the same. Likewise, unthinking participation for the purpose of promoting special interests can undermine the public good. A very important knowledge base of civil virtue for Ethiopians is knowing politics and government in the land, formal and informal institutions of government, the role of citizens and their rights and responsibilities, and acquiring skills on how best to revive and enhance patriotism.

No doubt, the problems confronting our beloved country are deep, complex and admittedly difficult. Much insurmountable they appear to be, however, nothing is far from the truth, especially if we choose to organize on the basis of the knowledge of the existing issues and acquire the skills to build up civic movements. There cannot be any excuse for failing in our efforts.

Organizing and organizations are universal human experiences. The idea of organizing is to govern, strengthen, guide and codify human relationships and build POWER. No matter the size, level, sophistication, goal, form or structure, organization is one of the most basic elements of human existence and survival. It is really hard to think of human growth and development, and civilization in general, without people coming together to work in unison and solidarity. Coming together and establishing a defined relationship for mutual benefit is what is organization is all about. The need for organizing arises from the need to solve problems by pooling in human resources. It is extremely important to realize, or be aware of, the need to organize for the purpose of national survival and solve the chronic or emerging problems, open opportunities and struggle for our rights to provide good education to our children or to influence policies affecting Ethiopia as whole. Organizing requires knowledge and skill.

At this difficult time in Ethiopian history, forming or organizing civic organizations to address the grave problems facing Ethiopians is greatly expected from Ethiopians wherever they are. As Martin Luther King said: "The ultimate measure of a person is not where he/she stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he /she stands at times of challenge and controversy." Ethiopia needs our help and we can best deliver that help by organizing and advocating for change toward the best interest of our people.

So far, the role of civil organizations in the socio-economic and political life of Ethiopia has not only been negligible but also limited in scope. There have been no independent civil organizations with defined and articulated political interests. Advocacy for political interests, democratic and human rights, policy changes and national unity in the manner ENC is actively working now was is popular. Such missions and activities were once assumed to be the purview of political organizations. So, most civic organizations created independently spell out that their mission is non-political, and pursue policies that separate their mission from political parties.

In that regard, the ENC is different. While ENC’s work with the political parties has succeeded in the formation of United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) last August, its efforts to mobilize people and engage them in civil virtue activities has yet to take off. Due to organizational difficulties, it has not conducted the effort of bringing people to its fold with full energy. Still, there have been significant accomplishments in forming ENC chapters all over the world. Reviving and consolidating these chapters, and organizing and bringing more and more people to accept the mission of the ENC is an agenda that our organization wants to pursue earnestly and vigorously starting now. In doing this, we not only create the conditions for greater participation of people but also facilitate the development of democratic, socio-economic institutions that will ultimately empower ourselves. ENC believes that the struggle of Ethiopians will achieve the desired results through the unity of political organizations. More significantly, we believe it will be achieved by the active participation of the public to protect their rights and pursue their socio-economic and political goals without fear and intimidation by the government.