Ethiopian women cry for justice

Mar 8, 2008 — Ethiopian women paid and are still paying great sacrifices in the post election repression unleashed against the people by the incumbent regime. Among the many who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the struggle for respect of fundamental Human Rights in the country we recall the following few victims:

In June 2005, a young women, Ms Shibre Desalegn died instantly after a high calibre bullet shot by the Federal Police pierced her neck. Shibre and her young friends were trying to block the road to the Sendafa prison following a mass arrest of Addis Abeba University students protesting peacefully in the university campus against government fraud in the May 2005 election. They were calling for Ethiopian peoples’ vote to be respected and for election related problems to be solved by legal means.

Another woman, another sad story. Ms Etenesh Yimam, was shot dead for screaming in protest against the police who raided the family home to arrest her husband Mr Teshome, a newly elected member of the Parliament. He is still in prison.

In violation of the UN human rights declaration on freedom of expression, a freelance women journalist, Ms Frezer Negash has been in prison since January 2006 without charge. She is more than four months pregnant.

Another case of flagrant human rights violation is the story of Ms Birtukan Demeksa who left behind her a two-month baby when she was arrested in November 2005 together with opposition political party leaders, human rights activists, journalists, civil society organisation members. A former judge, known for her independence, Ms Birutkan’s crime is to be active in politics. She was elected only a few months back, as the vice chair of the opposition CUD party.

It is impossible to name all Ethiopian women, wives, partners, mothers, sisters and daughters, who are direct or indirect victims of the on-going repression. We just want to add our voice in solidarity with their courage and struggle for justice for their murdered, missing or imprisoned loved-ones. Since the May 15 parliamentary elections, the Ethiopian government has escalated the repression to an unprecedented level. On 16 January the Government announced the release of over 11 000 people. However, the exact figure of those still in detention – of which one fifth are said to be women – remains unknown.

Victims have a right to justice, truth and reparation. We call upon the United Nation General Secretary, Kofi Anan, to appoint a special rapporteur to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for human rights violation in Ethiopia. The absence of any concrete action by the UN to redress the human rights situation in Ethiopia is very alarming. We believe the Convention on Civil and Political Rights, one of the founding principles of the UN, should prevail over any other consideration.

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– http://www.mdhe.org/