Ato Andargachew Tsige, a member of the Kestedemena Party who had been arrested and tortured by the Meles regime last month, arrived in London today.
Kestedemena is one of the four parties that make up the Coalition for Unity & Democracy (CUD).
Ato Andargachew’s family told Tensae Radio and Ethiopian Review today that Ato Andargachew was able to elude the security personnel who were following him day and night long enough to escape.
Ato Andargachew is the first major opposition figure who found it necessary to go into exile since the May 15 elections.
While in Addis Ababa, Ato Andargachew was being followed day and night by security personnel.
He also had been arrested and severely tortured by the Meles regime after he and thousands of other opposition supporters and students were rounded up and sent to Ziway prison camp last month.
When the EPRDF came to power in 1991, Ato Andargachew was the first mayor of Addis Ababa for a brief period of time. He resigned over policy disagreements with the TPLF leaders, the main party in the EPRDF coalition. He was a member of Tamrat Layne’s Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (EPDM), which later changed its name to Amhara People Democratic Movement (APDM), to go along with Meles Zenawi’s ethnic apartheid agenda.
Representatives of the Coalition for Unity & Democracy (CUD), United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), and the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) held a meeting with the American, British, Finland and EU ambassadors last night in Addis Ababa.
At the meeting, which was held at the British Embassy, the opposition representatives informed the Western ambassadors that the Meles regime has made it impossible to conduct the vote probing process by continuing to harass, arrest and torture opposition party members and supporters.
The opposition parties expressed their disappointment that the US and EU, who are financing 40% of the Meles regime’s budget, are not using all their leverages in order to avert bloody confrontations between the government and the people.
The representatives explained to the ambassadors that the opposition parties are going against the wish of the people to try to facilitate a peaceful outcome. But it seems that this only emboldened the EPRDF to intensify its harassments, torture and killings of civilians who are suspected of supporting opposition parties.
Finally, the opposition representatives pleaded with the ambassadors that unless they use all their leverages on Meles Zenawi to convince him to respect the agreement he signed, things will be out of their control soon.
The opposition leaders expressed their deep disappointment and sadness that the US and EU are not willing to apply on the Meles regime the same kind of pressure they applied on the former Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Georgia, and other governments that tried to steal the people’s vote.
Several Ethiopians held a demonstration at the Djibouti Embassy in Washington DC today to demand that Djibouti government respect the rights of the Ethiopian pilots who defected in Djibouti last month.
The protestors asked the Djibouti government to hand over the pilots to the UNHCR.
During the demonstration, a representative of the protestors delivered a letter to the Djibouti Embassy counselor, Mr Issa Bouraleh.
UNHCR fears that the pilots may have already been turned over to the Meles government. But the Djibouti government is not saying any thing.
The Djibouti government’s violation of the longstanding international law that protects the rights of asylum seekers should not be tolerated. If no serious action is taken against President Guelleh’s government, the Ethiopian pilots who defected in Belarus will face the same fate.
Ethiopian Review proposes a special committee to be formed to undertake the necessary legal actions to save the heroic Ethiopian pilots who refused to turn their guns against their own people. Any one who’s interested to discuss this matter further, please write to the Publisher.
It’s regrettable that the thousands of former Ethiopian officers who now reside in Europe and the US are not coming to the help of their fellow offices in their time of need. They should have taken a lead role in organizing the effort to have the safety and rights of the pilots protected.
On the other hand, the tireless effort by Meto-Aleqa Ayalsew Dessie and a few other officers on behalf of the pilots is highly commendable.
In a teleconference conducted by Ethiopian Review today, the Coalition for Unity & Democracy (CUD) spokesperson, Dr Hailu Araya, said that the EPRDF government has become a completely lawless entity. EPRDF relies on gun, and not the law, to govern the country, Dr Hailu said.
The people of Ethiopia will not idly sit by and watch their votes being stolen, Dr Hailu told the teleconference participants. CUD will also take peaceful and constitutional measures to have the people’s vote respected, he added.
Asked about bringing to justice the perpetrators of the June 8 massacre, Dr Hailu said that CUD is consulting with local and international lawyers. His organization’s effort in this regard is hampered by lack of resources.
CUD is preparing the take over the Addis Ababa administration by the end of September, according to Dr Hailu. But the EPRDF is emptying the city’s treasury, acting like an invading force that is abandoning an occupied city Dr Hailu said.
Parts of Dr Hailu’s interview can be heard at www.tensae.com
ADDIS ABABA, 18 July 2005 (IRIN) – An umbrella body representing more than 250 international and local charities in Ethiopia has said the government threatened on Saturday to ban it because of alleged “political bias”.
The Christian Relief and Development Association (CRDA) said it was accused of “illegal and destructive activities” after voicing concerns over post-election violence.
“We are very alarmed by this threat because it means any criticism being made within the country is being stifled,” Semira Alhadi, deputy director of the body, told IRIN.
Ethiopia’s justice ministry has called a meeting on Tuesday with the 12-strong board of the CRDA.
CRDA had called for an independent inquiry after an estimated 40 people were killed during violent clashes between security forces and civilians protesting alleged electoral fraud in the 15 May elections.
It said the media was being muzzled and civil society was being marginalised in the Horn of Africa country. It also condemned mass arrests and demanded an independent inquiry into the killings.
The organisation criticised Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ban on demonstrations in the capital, and said it had not served its purpose because people had been killed in clashes with police.
“We still stand by these points – we don’t have to be a political party to demand justice and transparency,” Semira said.
“We have basically made the same points that have been made by the United States government and the European Union, but we are targeted for bias,” he added. “We are afraid that the government is beginning a long process of harassment or imprisonment because of criticisms that have been made.”
Among CRDA members are international charities including Save the Children, Action Aid, Concern and Oxfam.
The Ethiopian information ministry, in the statement released to state media, said: “It is no secret that this organization is not only engaged in disseminating a baseless and blatant campaign against the on-going intensive development efforts of the government, but also indicates that it has no intention to collaborate as a development partner because it is bent on realizing a hidden political agenda.”
Meanwhile two more newspaper editors have been arrested in the country for their reporting on post-election violence.
Fassil Yenalem, editor-in-chief of “Addis Zena” newspaper and Amare Aregawi, publisher and editor-in-chief of “Reporter” newspaper and magazine, were arrested for their coverage of the aftermath of the election.
At least eight local editors are awaiting trial on recent charges related to their work during this period, according to international media watchdogs. Many others report being harassed or otherwise intimidated for their coverage, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said last week.
GENEVA, July 15, 2007 (UNHCR) – Assistant High Commissioner Kamel Morjane has reiterated UNHCR’s call for access to three Ethiopian airmen who reportedly defected to Djibouti in early June, but there are fears that they have already been returned to Ethiopia against their will.
The three Ethiopians – two pilots and an engineer – reportedly flew their Ethiopian military helicopter to neighbouring Djibouti around June 10. UNHCR learnt of the defection in the third week of June, and sent a note verbale to the Djibouti government on June 26 seeking access to the Ethiopians to determine if they wanted to seek asylum.
Receiving no reply, the director of UNHCR’s Africa Bureau sent a follow-up letter on June 30 seeking “access to the three asylum seekers to verify whether they are entitled to international protection.”
At the same time, the refugee agency has sought direct contacts with the authorities, including meetings on Thursday, but has so far been unable to get clarification on the men’s fate. There are conflicting reports on what has happened to them, with some officials saying they were returned to Ethiopia and others saying at least two of them remained in Djibouti.
This week, Assistant High Commissioner Morjane sent a letter to Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, expressing UNHCR’s concerns over the fate of the three Ethiopians.
“I would like to reiterate UNHCR’s deep preoccupation regarding the situation of the three Ethiopian pilots who may intend to seek asylum in Djibouti where they recently arrived,” Morjane stated in his letter. “I am very concerned to see that UNHCR still has had no clear reply regarding these asylum seekers. I would highly appreciate your assistance in this issue because it will be essential so that UNHCR, in collaboration with the government of Djibouti, can find an appropriate solution in conformity with international refugee law.”
UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva on Friday, “Despite early indications from some government officials that we would be able to meet the Ethiopians, we still have not seen them and we are growing increasingly concerned that the pilots may have been returned to Ethiopia against their will.”
The principle of non-refoulement is established in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, of which Djibouti is a signatory. The Convention clearly prohibits expulsion or return of a refugee to a country where his or her life or freedom may be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular group or political opinion. The principle of non-refoulement applies by definition to any person requesting asylum, pending the full examination of their refugee claim.
“Given UNHCR’s long and positive relationship with the government of Djibouti, we hope the government will respond immediately to Mr. Morjane’s urgent request,” said Redmond.
A separate group of eight Ethiopian air force personnel defected in Belarus in early June. They are now being processed under the Belarussian asylum system.
