Ethiopian election monitors say expulsion broke promise

WASHINGTON, Apr 1, 2005 (AP) — Three U.S. democracy organizations whose representatives had been expelled from Ethiopia for having the wrong visas said they had received assurances that their personnel would receive full working credentials.

The expulsions of representatives of the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and IFES, formerly the International Foundation of Election Systems, marked the first time in 20 years that a government had taken collective action against all three.

In a joint statement, the three said they regret the expulsions and hope the government in Addis Ababa lets their people back in.

Ethiopia , a poor country of 68 million in the Horn of Africa, has national elections scheduled May 15, only the third time its people will have participated in democratic voting. The previous elections, in 1995 and 2000, were won by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, a rebel movement that overthrew dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government expelled the U.S. representatives of the three organizations. The reason given was that they were in Ethiopia on tourist visas, not as representatives of nongovernmental organizations.

“All three of our organizations have been making good-faith efforts to gain registration in accordance with established laws and procedures. We had been assured that our registration would be approved expeditiously,” the Washington-based groups said in Friday’s statement.

Their delegates were given no warning, it said.

“Representatives from the three organizations were asked to attend a meeting at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the statement said.

“At the meeting the director-general for Europe and America informed the representatives that all programming must cease and all foreign nationals working for the organizations must leave Ethiopia within 48 hours.”

The three were working in Ethiopia under contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development under a $1.69 million grant. Congress has devoted $10 million to promoting democracy in Ethiopia through training voters and election observers and promoting cooperation among political parties.

Meles’ government is considered friendly to the West and has made a major part of its program the reduction of poverty. The latest U.S. State Department survey of human rights conditions worldwide said, however, that while Ethiopia had made progress toward respecting basic rights in 2004, some freedoms were restricted and police continued to use excessive force.

In the statement, the three democracy organizations said their programs support no political parties in the coming elections.

“We are surprised by this move, particularly as it comes at a time when the government of Ethiopia has stated its intention to organize an open a democratic election process,” the statement said. “We continue to support the democratic aspirations of the Ethiopian people and hope that the government of Ethiopia will reverse its decision.”