Kinijit-Ethiopia urges liberation of political prisoners

June 28, 2007 — The Heads of States and Governments of the African Union (AU), at their forthcoming Summit in
Accra (Ghana), are expected to put another milestone in the political history of the Continent. At
this Summit, the modalities of transforming the AU into the Union Government of Africa; popularly
referred to as the United States of Africa, will be at the centre of the negotiation. The International
Political Committee of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP-Kinijit) has the honour
and the privilege to forward the compliments of our jailed leaders to the Head of States and
Governments of Africa, and express our party’s support for the unity of Africa through peaceful and
democratic means.

The Union Government of Africa will be successful, if and only, if the source of political power is
the ballot box; through free and fair elections; and its governance structure is unambiguously
founded on the principles of separations of powers; with an independent and transparent judiciary
and the rule of law; a vibrant press that harnesses democracy, traditions and value systems; and
an academia whose mission is to advance new knowledge and provide the education and skills
required for the new economy. These key enabling features of good governance and development
should be enshrined in an overarching Continental Constitution that should be ratified by a
referendum.

The Union Government of Africa, if formed under the above solid grounds, brings nightmares to
anti democratic regimes in the Continent; whose hands and minds have been the cause of
bloodsheds and misery to millions of Africans. They will object and sabotage its formation as it will
expose not only their maladministration, but their horrendous crimes against humanity. One such
regime is unfortunately found in Ethiopia.

The details of the illegitimate Prime Minister’s misrule of Ethiopia are too many to be detailed in
this statement. Inspecting the December 15, 2005 resolution of the European Parliament and the
draft bill of the United States Congress and the reports of human rights organizations like Amnesty
International and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council provides a glimpse of the atrocities
committed by the regime. In other words, there is overwhelming evidence that allows the AU to
invoke the instruments of international law and its own conventions against such regimes,
including the minority regime in Ethiopia and its cabal.

Meles Zenawi is not only dangerous to Ethiopians. His venom has started to spread to the rest of
the Continent. We therefore call upon the Heads of States and Governments of the AU to first and
foremost save NEPAD and the APRM. These programmes and institutions are too important to be
left to rot in the hands of a charlatan. It is indeed ridiculous and ironic to find Meles at the helm of
these institutions. Hence, we call upon President John Kufuor, the current President of the AU to
officially raise these concerns at the Summit, and address the plight of political prisoners in the
continent.

Free Political Prisoners in Ethiopia!