Ethiopia has been one of the major recipients of international aid in recent times. Despite many years of human rights abuse, Sweden and other donors continue pumping aid into Ethiopia. Addis Ababa’s pleasant climate and the fact that we have an entwined history outweigh the murdered demonstrators and detained journalists, writes David Isaksson, journalist and author at Global Reporting Sweden.

In the summer of 2011, two Swedish journalists entered the Ogaden province with the ONLF guerrilla movement. The two freelance journalists, photographer Johan Persson and writer Martin Schibbye, travelled illegally to Ogaden with the intention to write about the oil and gas prospecting of the company Lundin Petroleum, which had ties to Sweden's foreign minister, Carl Bildt.

The assignment as such was nothing unusual for journalists. Many journalists were entering Libya during the uprising against Gaddafi, and, of course, without any authorisation issued by the Gaddafi regime. The difference, however, is that while Gaddafi was a on the verge of falling, the authoritarian regime of Ethiopia has for many years been seen as a guarantee for stability, and therefore generally accepted, also by donors.

In the ongoing trial, the two Swedish journalists are accused of supporting a terrorist group and entering illegally into the country, facing jail sentences of up to 20 years. The Ethiopian regime has declared not only the organisation “terrorist”, but also labelled all contacts with the organisation as a “terrorist act”. The journalists have pleaded guilty to entering the country without a visa but deny the terror charges.

That undemocratic regimes label their opponents as “terrorists” is nothing new. ANC of South Africa was during many years labelled a terrorist organisation by the apartheid regime (and by some foreign governments as well).

The trial against the Swedish journalists and the abuses that are now reported about seem to surprise donor agencies, politicians and others outside of Ethiopia. But in fact, it is nothing new. On the contrary, abuses and crimes against human rights have been ongoing for many years in Ethiopia. Even so, Sweden and other countries have continued to fill the vaults in Addis Ababa with millions and millions of dollars in development aid. The Swedish minister for development cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, and development ministers from other countries like to cuddle up to the idea of integrating democracy and human rights in development cooperation. But the fact is that there is no correlation between stronger democracy and more development assistance. On the contrary, once a regime receives aid money, they can usually kick back and relax. When money starts pouring in, it almost takes a genocide for donors to withdraw their support. And for countries that become more democratic, the amount of aid might actually decrease.

Let’s go back to 1995. We are a group of journalists visiting Ethiopia. Our trip has been paid for by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the programme includes visits to various agricultural and industrial projects. Now it's only a few days left of our visit and we've got an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Apart from the projects that Sweden would like to show us, there is also another reality in Ethiopia: journalists and dissidents are being imprisoned. The day before our interview, the U.S. had released an unusually strong report on human rights abuses in Ethiopia. I read aloud from the report and asked the Prime Minister for his comment. He did not look amused.

Afterwards, the Swedish ambassador to Ethiopia at that time and several Swedish experts showed their disappointment: "We arranged the interview with Zenawi for you, and you behave like that. You must show more understanding ... "

Understanding was, and still remains, a key word. In 1995, Ethiopia was one of the largest recipients of Swedish aid. Since then, Ethiopia has fought wars, imprisoned and killed opponents and suppressed the civil society. But the underlying notion that we should show “understanding” remains the same. Ethiopia is still (2010) one of Sweden's most important "cooperation partners". In 2010, Ethiopia received approximately 42 million USD (283 million SEK) in bilateral support from Sweden (Sida annual report statistics), which places it among Sweden's ten biggest recipient countries. In 2009 the amounth was even higher, 50 million USD (DAC).  On an average of five years (2005-2009) Sweden is the number nine among all donors to Ethiopia with Norway as number ten (DAC). In spite of the harsh criticism in the Swedish MFA's reports about the abuse of human rights, Sweden continues to finance the Ethiopian state apparatus. Research cooperation and private sector development are among those sectors that benefit from our tax money (human rights programmes are also an important part of the budget). And Sweden is not alone. Important donors such as Great Britain and the United States of America keep pouring money into Ethiopia. However, the other Nordic countries now seem to evaluate the development in Ethiopia in a different way compared to Sweden through the last few years. For Denmark and Norway, Ethiopia is the 26^th and 14^th largest receiver (2010). Maybe human rights are more important for our Nordic neighbours.

And yes, of course, Mêlées Zenawi, is still in power.

Ethiopia is perhaps one of the most perverse examples of how a country continues to receive development money year after year, without any improvement in democracy and respect for human rights. But there are other countries that continue to receive development money from Sweden, without any questions asked. In fact, more than a half of the ten most important Swedish “partner countries” remain the same, year after year, without any having to justify their conduct. In spite of all the talk about human rights, efficiency and transparency, there are other, much more vague factors that determine the selection of a partner country.

In “Review of Development Economics” (May 2011), the researchers Anke Hoeffler and Verity Outram at the Centre for the Study of African Economics at the University of Oxford sought to draw conclusions about what governs aid in a text entitled "Need, Merit, or Self-Interest - What Determines the Allocation of Aid?"

In the study, the researches take a look at the five largest donors of bilateral aid during the period between 1980 and 2004, divided into three periods: the Cold War, post Cold War and the war on terror.

One of the researchers' conclusions is that improvements in democracy, human rights, anti-corruption, etc. only play a marginal role in the selection of a recipient country. In the words of the researchers: “Recipient merit, measured by growth, democracy and human rights, accounts for only two percent of predicted aid”.

"What surprised us most was that the donors cared so little about the change in the countries. From an aid perspective, the world's poor countries have no incentive to strengthen their democracy and human rights, "says Anke Hoeffler.

In spite of all the pretty talk about democracy, press freedom and human rights, it is quite different factors that govern Sweden’s development aid. The case of Ethiopia is even more complicated due to Carl Bildt's ties to Lundin Petroleum (now operating under the name Africa Oil) and its operations in Ogaden. Which interests are in fact dominating? One does not have to lean towards the major conspiracy theories. The reality is often more trivial than that: the countries that consultants, foreign ministry officials, Sida staff and NGO volunteers think are nice, or that they have fond memories of, have good prospects to continue receiving development aid, even long after reality has surpassed the expiry date.

That Addis Ababa is a safe city to live in, that the climate is good and that we have a long shared history, which is an excellent topic for conversation at a cocktail party, outweigh murdered demonstrators and detained journalists. In comparison with our glorious common history, - manifested in Gustaf von Rosen, the man who built the Ethiopian Air Force on behalf of Haile Selassie - free speech remains utterly trivial in the cosy life of the well paid-expats, the experts on development.

Still, the waves of democracy will sooner or later reach Ethiopia as they have been reaching country after country in the Middle East. And when that day comes, who will stand up and explain how we, year after year, supported brutal regimes such as the one in Ethiopia?

Welcome Gunilla Carlsson, Carin Jämtin and all your past and present colleagues. Please take the floor!

David Isaksson

Journalist and writer, Global Reporting

www.globalreporting.net

Note: This is a revised extract from my contribution (in Swedish) to the anthology Bistånd är politik (“Aid is Politics”). The book is published in collaboration between SILC publishers and the magazine OmVärlden. It can be purchased in online bookstores.

Learn more at http://silc.se/book/bistand-ar-politik/

A shorter version of this text is published at The NAI Forum (Nordic Africa Institute) http://www.naiforum.org/2011/12/atrocities-in-ethiopia/

Read the paper by Anke Hoeffler and Verity Outram at http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/workingpapers/pdfs/2008-19text.pdf