Steve Biko :"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." Speech in Cape Town, 1971

By Ali Ahmad:

Ethiopians living under tyranny and under the law of the jungle are not surprised by the most recent drama of Anit Terrorism legislation played by the TPLF bandits. Unlike Ethiopians, the legislation got the attention of the Westerners because it appears to have a  ridiculous and broad definition of terrorism with intention to strangulate democracy.

The major players of ethnic Apartheid in Ethiopia copied their most recent Anit Terrorism legislation from a very similar act called “ The Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 that was a law of the South African Apartheid regime”.

Section 6 of   the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in Apartheid South Africa also allowed someone suspected of involvement in terrorism—which was very broadly defined as anything that might “endanger the maintenance of law and order”—to be detained for an indefinite period without trial on the authority of a senior police officer. Since there was no requirement to release information on who was being held, people subject to the Act tended to disappear.

Just like Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in Apartheid South Africa the the newly passed Anti-Terror Proclamation in Ethiopia is intended to restrict freedom of expression, assembly and stifle dissent. It allows the bandits from Tigrai who have been terrorizing the nation since 18 years an additional opportunity to further arbitrary arrest ordinary citizens when ever they want.

The Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 allowed the detention of an individual by a policeman of rank lieutenant-colonel or greater. Terrorism was very broadly defined in the Act and included most common criminal behaviors. People could be held indefinitely or for unlimited number of time since the act allowed detention until all questions were satisfactorily answered or until no further useful purpose would be achieved by keeping the person in detention. Those held under the act were only permitted to be visited by a magistrate one every two weeks. No one else was allowed access (except the police and security services, of course).

The death of Steve Biko , the known south African Medical Doctor and Human Rights  Activist, in police custody in 1977, while being detained under the Act, was a particular cause célèbre. It is estimated that approximately many people died while being detained under the Act. Stephen Bantu Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977)  was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement.  While living, his writings and activism attempted to empower black people, and he was famous for his slogan “black is beautiful”, which he described as meaning: “man, you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being”.  Despite friction between the ANC and Biko throughout the 1970sthe ANC has included Biko in the pantheon of struggle heroes, going as far as using his image for campaign posters in South Africa’s first non-racial elections in 1994.

Melese Zenawis law that comprises 38 sections lays a foundation for arrests and searches without court warrants in the country just like Just like Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in Aparthid South Africa.