Ethiopia: Are there two standards of human rights

Ethiopians and Friends of Ethiopia will travel from all over Europe to hold a rally in Brussels on March 23, 2006 to protest the indifference of EU policy makers to the ongoing atrocities in Ethiopia and urge them to take action. A full version of this press release has been sent as an open letter to the leaders of EU member states attending the Brussels summit on the 23rd and 24th of March and to senior EU officials.

Background: It will soon be fifteen solid years since Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s coalition of armed liberation movements, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has replaced the military dictatorship of Mengistu Hailemariam. Despite the favorable international image that Mr. Meles Zenawi has managed to build as a “progressive leader”, the Ethiopian people have known little respite from political repression and violence in the years that followed. Thousands of Ethiopians have been killed, maimed, tortured and arbitrarily detained with impunity while hundreds have disappeared over the past 14 years in a systematic campaign of persecution directed at journalists, dissidents, civil society leaders, peaceful protestors and suspected leaders, members and sympathizers of opposition groups.

The May elections: The political and human rights situation in the country took a dramatic turn for the worst since May 15, 2005, a polling day that saw an unprecedented voter turnout and substantial gains for the opposition wherever international observers were present. In reaction, the Ethiopian Prime Minister banned all demonstrations and peaceful assembly in Addis Ababa and assumed direct command over the security forces by prime-ministerial fiat in violation of the country’s constitution and international human rights conventions. Since then, his government is engaged in large-scale repression and has criminalized all forms of dissent.

Systematic Persecution: Over one hundred civilians, including peaceful protesters, bystanders, and activists have been killed. Among those killed, for example, is Mr. Tesfaye Adane, a newly elected member of parliament from the opposition, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF). Government forces have also shot and killed Mrs. Etenesh Yimer in front her family for protesting the detention of her husband, Mr. Teshome, who is a member of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUDP) and a newly elected deputy to the Addis Ababa City Administration. What is more, members of the victim’s family were later asked by the authorities to declare that the opposition was responsible for the victim’s death in order to obtain her body. Dozens of people, including members and suspected supporters of the various opposition groups, are reported to have disappeared.

Many of the elected deputies from the main opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, have been arbitrarily stripped of their parliamentary immunity and the entire leadership of the party and other senior members are languishing in jail. Among the targets of political persecution are also journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders who have either been detained or fled the country. According to a recent report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Ethiopia ranks first among African nations and third in the world in the number of journalists jailed.

An estimated several tens of thousands of people, including teenagers and the elderly, have been rounded up and sent to make-shift detention camps with substandard sanitary conditions in the countryside. Arbitrary detention and beatings of high school students are being reported as we write. The government has refused to disclose the exact number of detainees or allow inspection by independent observers.

Victims’ trial: We regret to say that the indifference or tacit support of western democracies has only emboldened the regime to cap the atrocities with an elaborate travesty of justice that is reminiscent of 20th century totalitarian governments. It has recently brought audacious charges of treason and genocide against 129 leaders and members of the democratic and peaceful opposition and civil society, dissidents and journalists based both within and outside Ethiopia. Although the charges have no factual or legal foundation as pointed out by various international observers including Amnesty International, the defendants risk capital punishment if convicted by a judiciary that is under the control of the Prime Minister. Paradoxically, there has been no public condemnation from European policy makers of this 21st century version of Stalin’s infamous trials but timid calls for a speedy and fair judicial process.

Rewarding impunity: It is particularly disturbing to note that influential members of the international community, including some European policy makers, seem to have chosen to reward the regime by applying disproportionate pressure on the peaceful opposition to enter into an open-ended and unconscionable negotiation process that dispenses with every notion of justice, human rights and the rule of law.

We believe that the EU can and must do better to protect the millions of Ethiopians and democracy activists whose only fault was to have taken for granted their commitment and support for the promotion of democracy and human rights. The situation in Ethiopia requires nothing less than the implementations of the measures recommended by the European Parliament in its Resolution of December 15, 2005 and were endorsed by the Belgian Parliament on 23 December 2005.

Accordingly, we ask EU leaders to take a principled stand by:

– Condemning the recent and ongoing atrocities, including arbitrary killings and imprisonment and the criminalization of dissent in unequivocal terms.
– Demanding the Ethiopian government to drop the unfounded charges brought against the non-violent opposition, journalists and civic activists and unconditionally releases all political detainees.
– Working both within the EU and the United Nations towards the establishment of an international commission of inquiry aimed at investigating the recent human rights violations and eventually bringing the culprits to justice.
– Urging the Ethiopian government to lift all the unconstitutional and undemocratic restrictions on civic and political rights and freedoms including freedom of expression, association and assembly and citizens’ right to participate in the government of their country through their chosen representatives.
– Ensuring that the Ethiopian government complies with the above measures by applying targeted sanctions and measures envisaged under Article 96 of the Cotonou agreement.

The rally will be held at Schumann Square on 23 March 2006, from 12:00 to 15:00hrs.

Your Excellency:

We are Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia who are citizens or residents of the member states of the European Union. We are writing this letter and will be holding, once again, a public rally in Brussels on 23 March 2006 to appeal to your conscience and sense of justice in view of the ongoing human rights violations and political repression in Ethiopia.

Background: It will soon be fifteen solid years since Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s coalition of armed liberation movements, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has replaced the military dictatorship of Mengistu Hailemariam. Despite the Front’s initial promises of a new and democratic era and the favorable international image that Mr. Meles Zenawi has managed to build as a “progressive leader”, the Ethiopian people have known little respite from political repression and violence in the years that followed. The regime has established a quasi-totalitarian control over all aspects of social, economic and political life in the country and conducted a systematic campaign of persecution against independent journalists, dissidents, civil society leaders, peaceful protestors and leaders and members of opposition groups.

Thousands of Ethiopians have been killed, maimed, tortured and arbitrarily detained with impunity while hundreds have disappeared over the past 14 years. These atrocities have been extensively reported and documented by human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council and by the Bureau of Human Rights and Labour of the US Department of State.

The May election: The political and human rights situation in the country took a dramatic turn for the worst since May 15, 2005, a polling day that saw an unprecedented voter turnout and substantial gains for the opposition wherever international observers were present, including a virtual sweep of the entire seat in the capital, Addis Ababa. In reaction, Mr. Meles Zenawi banned all demonstrations and peaceful assembly in Addis Ababa and assumed direct command over the security forces by prime-ministerial fiat in violation of the country’s constitution and international human rights conventions. Since then, his government is engaged in large-scale repression and has criminalized all forms of dissent.

Systematic Persecution: Over one hundred civilians, including peaceful protesters, bystanders, and activists have been killed. Among those killed, for example, is Mr. Tesfaye Adane, a newly elected member of parliament from the opposition, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF). Government forces have also shot and killed Mrs. Etenesh Yimer in front her family for protesting the detention of her husband, Mr. Teshome, who is a member of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUDP) and a newly elected deputy to the Addis Ababa City Administration. What is more, members of the victim’s family were later asked by the authorities to declare that the opposition was responsible for the victim’s death in order to obtain her body. Dozens of people, including members and suspected supporters of the various opposition groups, are reported to have disappeared.

Many of the elected deputies from the main opposition party, the CUDP, have been arbitrarily stripped of their parliamentary immunity and the entire leadership of the party and other senior members are languishing in prison. An estimated several tens of thousands of people, including teenagers and the elderly, have been rounded up and sent to make-shift detention camps with substandard sanitary conditions in the countryside. Arbitrary detention and beatings of high school students is being reported as we write. The government has refused to disclose the exact number of detainees or allow inspection by independent observers.

The activities of human rights defenders have been restricted through the threat of criminal charges and detention forcing some of them to go into hiding or exile. Among the targets of political persecution are also journalists, lawyers and leaders of civic organizations who either have been detained or fled the country. According to a recent report Ethiopia ranks first among African nations and third in the world in the number of journalists jailed and there is virtually no genuinely private press in the country as a result.

Victims on trial: We regret to say that the reaction of the international community, including the EU and its member states, to these tragic developments in Ethiopia has fallen far short of the standards applied vis-à-vis other, in the relevant sense, less dramatic events in countries such as Georgia, Ukraine and Zimbabwe. The indifference or tacit support of western democracies has only emboldened the regime to cap the atrocities with an elaborate travesty of justice that is reminiscent of 20th century totalitarian governments. The latter has recently brought audacious charges of treason and genocide against 129 leaders and members of the democratic and peaceful opposition and civil society, dissidents and journalists that are based both within and outside Ethiopia. Although the charges have no factual or legal foundation as pointed out by various international observers including Amnesty International, the defendants risk capital punishment if convicted by a judiciary that is under the control of the Prime Minister. Paradoxically, there has been no public condemnation from European policy makers of this 21st century version of Stalin’s infamous trials, but timid calls for a speedy and fair judicial process.

Rewarding impunity? It is particularly disturbing to note that influential members of the international community, including some European policy makers, seem to have chosen to reward the regime rather than insisting upon the Ethiopian government to adhere to universal democratic and human rights standards. The rewards range from a premature recognition of the ruling party’s victory to calling all sides for restraint and applying disproportionate pressure on the peaceful opposition to enter into an unconscionable negotiation process that dispenses with every notion of justice, human rights and the rule of law. Indeed, there is hardly any contemporary example of a regime that is so dependent on the political and financial support of Western democracies and yet, not only continues to commit crimes against humanity with absolute impunity but also puts the victims on trial, as is the case with the Ethiopian government.

Your Excellency,

As proud citizens and residents of many of the member states of the European Union, we believe that you can and must do better to protect the millions of Ethiopians and democracy activists whose only fault was to have taken for granted your commitment and support for the promotion of democracy and human rights. We are not asking you to change the regime for Ethiopians. However, given the stark choices between a regime that is engaged in systematic and wide spread human rights violations against its own citizens and the people who have expressed peacefully their faith in the universal values of democracy and the rule of law, we thrust that you will stand with the latter in both words and deeds.

Given the above, we are saddened by the EU’s insistence on an open ended and non-binding political dialogue for 10 long months that saw a further intensification of the repression rather than a concession on the part of the Meles Zenawi regime. We believe that any attempt at a negotiated settlement that eschews basic human rights principles, accountability and victims’ right to justice gives the impression of complicity and is certainly not the way to go about promoting democracy and human rights.

We, therefore, kindly request you to take measures that are commensurate to the magnitude of the ongoing human tragedy in Ethiopia and in keeping with the principles and values the European Union and its member states. The situation in Ethiopia requires nothing less than the implementations of the measures recommended by the European Parliament in its Resolution of December 15, 2005 and were endorsed by the Belgian Parliament on 23 December 2005.

Accordingly, we ask EU leaders to take a principled stand by:

– Condemning the recent and ongoing atrocities, including arbitrary killings and imprisonment and the criminalization of dissent in unequivocal terms.
– Demanding the Ethiopian government to drop the unfounded charges brought against the non-violent opposition, journalists and civic activists and unconditionally releases all political detainees.
– Working both within the EU and the United Nations towards the establishment of an international commission of inquiry aimed at investigating the recent human rights violations and eventually bringing the culprits to justice.
– Urging the Ethiopian government to lift all the unconstitutional and undemocratic restrictions on civic and political rights and freedoms including freedom of expression, association and assembly and citizens’ right to participate in the government of their country through their chosen representatives.
– Ensuring that the Ethiopian government complies with the above measures by applying targeted sanctions and measures envisaged under Article 96 of the Cotonou agreement.

Confident that you will grant our demands your utmost consideration, we remain.

Respectfully yours,