No honour at Tampere University for a dictator in Ethiopia
NOVANEWS
Georges Gobet/AFP
Alemayehu G. Mariam
A university in Finland plans to confer an honorary doctoral degree on Ethiopian ruler Hailemariam Desalegn in May. In doing so, Tampere University of Technology will have been an unwitting partner in a sophisticated public relations campaign to legitimize, glamourize, mythologize and romanticize a ruthless and brutal dictator and his regime.
Author’s Note: In my March 19, 2017 commentary, I indicated that I will be contacting the President and Board Chairman of the Tampere University of Technology to withdraw or rescind the offer of an honorary doctoral degree to Hailemariam Desalegn, the putative leader of the T-TPLF regime in Ethiopia. Below is a copy of the letter sent to the aforementioned individuals.
I ...