The Other Problem With Article 39.

By Mekonnen F. Kassa

Constitutional scholars who have studied our constitutions may have what they believe to be ample reasons for opposing it. I am not an expert in constitutional matters, but based on the questions and replies I have received; my impression is that Article 39 of the FDRE’s constitution also gets misinterpreted because of lack of reading and bad publicity surrounding it.

To begin with, we Ethiopians suffer from under-developed culture of reading and well developed culture of gaining information through hearsay, and it has resulted in a sizable number of Ethiopians learning about the constitution, just like everything else, through word-of-mouth. Using this to its advantage, the minority vociferous opposition bent on criminalizing any achievement of the last 14 years has made a significant contribution from discouraging reading the constitution to making it out to be phony at best and treasonous at worst.

Let me ask a pointed question: how many of us, I mean the average men and women, have really taken the time to read, not gloss over, our constitution? If the answer is no, then I encourage you to take time and read it, and here is a link to an official website http://www.ethiopar.net/English/cnstiotn/consttn.htm.

To illustrate a point, I have included four Articles below for your review including the controversial Article 39 of FDRE Constitution. The most often quoted problematic clause of Article 39 being the inclusion the “unconditional right to self-determination, including the right to secession.” I do not agree with the clause either, and I believe, in due time and under the right conditions, it will be amended.

But the other problem, and the one that troubles me the most is that people mistakenly infer Article 39 as a restriction on the individual’s social, political, and economic activity to his/her own ethnic’s Killil. That is completely wrong.

Let alone Article 39, I have not seen anywhere in our constitution where it restrictively stipulated an individual should live, work, vote and get elected only in his own ethnic Kilil. Quite to the contrary, Article 32 and 38 of our constitution clearly stipulate the right of an Ethiopians citizen to freely choose his/her residence and get elected anywhere within the Ethiopian national territory, respectively. Please read and be better informed. Next election around in 2010, any Ethiopian can register and run for election at any district in any Killil, including in Adwa, Tigray. All you need is to be a resident of the district for two years. See http://www.electionsethiopia.org/Legal%20Framework.html website for NEB rules.

Finally, I personally believe constitutions are better left to be amended as society evolves and circumstances change. The sanctity of constitutions should not be violated under any circumstance, be it as a sign of good will or to appease political opponents. Violating it once sets bad precedence and opens the door for others to follow with no end in sight. And I also believe, unlike a religious holy book, a constitution is a man-made “holy book” deserving to be equally venerated; it is a “holy book” that enjoys respect and acceptance by all religious denominations, pagans, and atheists at the same time. Not achieved by any single religious holy book.

Article 32

Freedom of Movement

1. Any Ethiopian or foreign national lawfully in Ethiopia has, within the national territory, the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence, as well as the freedom to leave the country at any time he wishes to.
2. Any Ethiopian national has the right to return to his country.

Article 38

The Right to Vote and to be Elected

1. Every Ethiopian national, without any discrimination based on colour, race, nation, nationality, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion or other status, has the following rights:
   (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly and through freely chosen representatives;
   (b) On the attainment of 18 years of age, to vote in accordance with law;
   (c) To vote and to be elected at periodic elections to any office at any level of government; elections shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.
2. The right of everyone to be a member of his own will in a political organization, labour union, trade organization, or employers’ or professional association shall be respected if he or she meets the special and general requirements stipulated by such organization.
3. Elections to positions of responsibility with any of the organizations referred to under sub-Article 2 of this Article shall be conducted in a free and democratic manner.
4. The provisions of sub-Articles 2 and 3 of this Article shall apply to civic organizations which significantly affect the public interest.

Article 39

Rights of Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples

1. Every Nation, Nationality and People in Ethiopia has an unconditional right to self-determination, including the right to secession.
2. Every Nation, Nationality and People in Ethiopia has the right to speak, to write and to develop its own language; to express, to develop and to promote its culture; and to preserve its history.
3. Every Nation, Nationality and People in Ethiopia has the right to a full measure of self-government which includes the right to establish institutions of government in the territory that it inhabits and to equitable representation in state and Federal governments.
4. The right to self-determination, including secession, of every Nation, Nationality and People shall come into effect:
   (a) When a demand for secession has been approved by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Legislative Council of the Nation, Nationality or People concerned;
   (b) When the Federal Government has organized a referendum which must take place within three years from the time it received the concerned council’s decision for secession;
   (c) When the demand for secession is supported by majority vote in the referendum;
   (d) When the Federal Government will have transferred its powers to the council of the Nation, Nationality or People who has voted to secede; and
   (e) When the division of assets is effected in a manner prescribed by law.
5. A "Nation, Nationality or People" for the purpose of this Constitution , is a group of people who have or share large measure of a common culture or similar customs, mutual intelligibility of language, belief in a common or related identities, a common psychological make-up, and who inhabit an identifiable, predominantly contiguous territory.
   

Article 104

Initiation of Amendments

Any proposal for constitutional amendment, if supported by two-thirds majority vote in the House of Peoples’ Representatives, or by a two-thirds majority vote in the House of the Federation or when one-third of the State Councils of the member States of the Federation, by a majority vote in each Council have supported it, shall be submitted for discussion and decision to the general public and to those whom the amendment of the Constitution concerns.