We are thrilled with the release of the 38 political leaders, human rights defenders, journalists and political activists this past week, yet the crisis in Ethiopia remains serious despite this good news. Instead, it is time for increased action—rather than relaxing, thinking that others will do it all for us. We now must take advantage of this encouraging development by not losing a step in our march for freedom, peace and the rule of law in Ethiopia. To do this, we must call other Canadians to march with us, calling them to intervene wherever it is possible. Ethiopian Canadians have an important role to play as they live, work and raise their families in a great and free country, but one that continues to generously support the current ruling government of Ethiopia with huge amounts of foreign aid.
To be effective, we must collaborate in the work, not to advance our own political party, but as a front of united Ethiopian people, invested in first making Ethiopia open and free to a diversity of voices. Political parties and their platforms must be secondary or we will lose our common voice as it is reduced into political factions, in competition with each other for future control, power and opportunity. Instead, our primary task at hand is opening up the country to the Ethiopian people so that they later can equally, freely and honestly choose who and what they want at the ballot box.
We are at a critical juncture where a common voice is needed to create a sustainable foundation for a free, healthy and strong democracy where future independent political groups are later, free to offer their best platforms to the public for their choices. Right now, let political groups continue to promote their independent agendas, but let those agendas be secondary to the greater Ethiopian Movement for freedom and democracy. Such a movement will be far more broad-based and inclusive of all Ethiopians from every region, ethnic group, gender, religion, educational level and economic level.
In the last weeks, I have received many calls, emails and requests to follow up on our previous article where we called on Ethiopian Canadians “to organize a coalition movement for the advancement of human rights for those in Ethiopia” a movement that is truly Pan-Ethiopian. People have asked me for help in determining where we should go from here and I contend it must be such a Pan-Ethiopian front of freedom-loving Ethiopian Canadians who want the same for Ethiopia as what they enjoy as members of Canadian society.
We already have indications that we are ready for such a movement. Consider the support for the release of the CUDP leaders in the past weeks and months. It has not only come from the Kinijit, but it has come from the ONLF, the UEDF, the OLF, the ENUF, the EPPF, the EPRP, the Afar, the Tigrayan Solidarity or Gasha organization and many others who were calling for the release of “their leaders.” The great example of that is the recent press release from the Ogaden people.
It is a phenomenal indication of how these newly released leaders have come to represent not a party, but instead, have become symbols for a national movement for justice and freedom in Ethiopia—something that would never have happened even two years ago. We have come a long way, but we must be extremely careful right now that our movement for freedom and justice does not quickly disintegrate into political parties, vying for leadership at the cost of the bigger struggle.
Such an effort will require leadership not just from Addis Ababa, but also from every region of Ethiopia. It must include the countless heroic leaders, many whose names we still do not know, who remain locked up in prisons throughout the country. Let us unite to assure them that they are not forgotten—that our battle is not over until their voices are also heard.
In fact, a new Ethiopia is emerging that may give new voice to such leaders from Afar, Ogaden, Hamar, Mazenger, Hawadle, Welayta, Konso, Shekicho and Shanqella. However, if we are not careful to include these leaders and instead, make the mistake of only focusing on one or a few major groups, we may lose so many of our guides along the road to freedom that we lose our way as a nation.
Right now, despite our rallying and protesting, we Ethiopian Canadians have not accomplished what we could have in Canada. We have not passed our own test. Unlike those in the United States or in Europe, we have never advanced any action that could have resulted in the Canadian government taking concrete action. If we are willing to accept our failure in this arena, we may be better able to respond with deeper commitment to score more highly on the next round of testing. We must work together so we do not limit ourselves by doing our own thing, separate from each other.
For example, in September of last year, I met with some of the top Canadian government officials in Ottawa, who told me that it is difficult to respond to the crisis in Ethiopia because Ethiopians do not have one common front and instead are separated into factions with some differences in their agendas. We know this is true, but we also know it may be convenient justification for not doing anything with what they may see as “a sensitive political situation.” However, we Ethiopian Canadians can remove any obstacle caused by our disunity by recognizing three unifying principles upon which most of us can agree.
1. Ethiopians from all over Ethiopia are experiencing human rights abuses and oppression—it is not just our own isolated experience, but is one that should unite our efforts in stopping our common perpetrator—the EPRDF—from continuing to terrorize us; recognizing that until freedom, justice and peace comes to all groups, we are not free ourselves.
2. Canadian Ethiopians living in Canada share a common new home country.
3. Canadian Ethiopians share a common heritage in Ethiopia, whether we are first or second generation Canadians—we have a common “Ethiopian-ness.”
Because of these three factors, we have a shared responsibility to work together to bring the travesty of our Ethiopian people—made up of our families, neighbors and fellow countrymen and women—to an end. From talking to so many of you, I believe we are ready to go forward in greater unity, but the question I keep hearing is—how do we do it—I say by organizing a meeting with this goal clearly in mind.
In my previous article calling Ethiopian Canadians to action, I proposed that we set a date for such a strategic planning meeting that would take place either in Ottawa or Toronto, hopefully by September 22, 2007. Those attending could be chosen as representatives from their organizations or political groups or could represent themselves as individuals. This would absolutely not be a political meeting for political parties, but instead a meeting to advance human rights, freedom, justice and democracy in Ethiopia—something we can agree is equally needed for all Ethiopians.
To facilitate the organization of such a meeting, those groups and individuals who are interested should email: [email protected] and provide your full name, address and contact information. From those names and from those who have already formed an ad hoc group to advance these goals, a steering committee will be given the task of determining the date, place and general format of the meeting. Delegates and individuals can then attend the meeting.
What is envisioned for that meeting would be a day to strategize as to what we can do to put more pressure on Ethiopian Canadians to take more action within Canada. For instance, Canada is a key donor to Ethiopia, giving large amounts of financial aid to improve the Ethiopian parliamentary structure, the judicial process, humanitarian aid and good governance. Yet, the current EPRDF government is killing and suppressing the people of Ethiopia while moving backwards rather than forwards on the above-mentioned goals. Some have reason to believe that the aid money—part of which we have contributed to through our tax dollars—has instead gone to support the continued oppression and brutalization of our loved ones. Through our regular contact with those at back home in Ethiopia, we know what is going on and we should encourage our Canadian government to no longer be silent about the horrible state of affairs in Ethiopia.
We can plan how to better advocate for the rights of Ethiopians in Canada as well as how Canadians should relate to Ethiopia. We can come up with ideas as to how to increase awareness of this crisis with Canadian political leaders, with leaders and congregations of religious groups and organizations, with students and professors at universities, with teachers and students in schools and with the public and civic servants in Canadian communities so that they also can advocate for justice and wise use of Canadian tax dollars in the world. This is not an issue for a liberal or conservative nor New Democratic Party government—it is for all. It is a non-partisan issue.
Just like is the case in Ethiopia; a movement for political freedom takes precedence over a movement for a political party since a lack of freedom defeats all political parties as we have seen with the current opposition parties. Right now, Meles would love to even try to divide the newly released leaders, increasing competition between them if he could and therefore, they and we must all be very vigilant so that we do not fall into such a trap and lose freedom for the whole country because of it.
Meles will not give up the fight easily as he has now even hired Missouri Democrat Richard Gephardt to kill the bill #HR2003. Instead, we must keep fighting also for our future. This is about a better future for all Ethiopians where no one is left out, including the Woyanne and Woyanne sympathizers. We have no choice but to reconcile and work together in finding a peaceful Ethiopia where we do not live in fear of being eliminated by others.
What we do in Canada may be a model for all Ethiopians in the Diaspora as they have modeled excellent achievements to us. May God help us to move quickly towards organizing such a strategic planning conference and may those who choose to become involved, be used to accomplish more than we could imagine!
ADDIS ABABA, July 26 (Reuters) – Ethiopian opposition leaders accused the government on Thursday of waging an “intensive propaganda campaign” against them through state media, less than a week after being freed in a clemency deal.
Thirty eight opposition members and activists were freed from jail last Friday after a nearly two-year trial that rights groups and donors complained was an attempt to dismantle the opposition after it made strong gains in 2005 elections.
The defendants were found guilty of inciting violence, treason and trying to topple the government, and 35 of them were given life sentences.
“It is also our belief that the people understand the true nature of the intensive propaganda campaign that the government is waging through the mass media after the conclusion of the agreement,” the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) said in a statement.
“We are also fully confident that the propaganda barrage will not, in any way, reduce the strong support that the people have for CUD.”
Government officials were not immediately available for comment.
Since the pardon, announced by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, state-owned Ethiopian television has aired several interviews with lawyers who said the trial and the convictions were just.
In a broadcast on Saturday, the chief prosecutor in the case, Shimeles Kemal, said the opposition leaders’ crimes justified the death penalty.
The defendants were arrested after two bouts of violence following disputed 2005 elections in which 199 civilians and police were killed, 800 people wounded and 30,000 arrested according to a parliamentary inquiry.
The CUD said it would continue to “struggle for democracy” and pledged to resolve its differences with the government through a reconciliation process initiated by the same elders that negotiated their release.
The group was freed after the government made public a letter it said CUD leaders sent to Meles admitting their guilt and promising to respect the law.
The CUD said a government statement on the clemency agreement was different to what they agreed to, but gave no details.
“It is our belief that the elders will make public the true content of the agreement at a time and in a manner that is convenient to them,” the statement said.
ADDIS ABABA, July 26 (Reuters) – Ethiopian opposition leaders accused the government on Thursday of waging an “intensive propaganda campaign” against them through state media, less than a week after being freed in a clemency deal.
Thirty eight opposition members and activists were freed from jail last Friday after a nearly two-year trial that rights groups and donors complained was an attempt to dismantle the opposition after it made strong gains in 2005 elections.
The defendants were found guilty of inciting violence, treason and trying to topple the government, and 35 of them were given life sentences.
“It is also our belief that the people understand the true nature of the intensive propaganda campaign that the government is waging through the mass media after the conclusion of the agreement,” the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) said in a statement.
“We are also fully confident that the propaganda barrage will not, in any way, reduce the strong support that the people have for CUD.”
Government officials were not immediately available for comment.
Since the pardon, announced by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, state-owned Ethiopian television has aired several interviews with lawyers who said the trial and the convictions were just.
In a broadcast on Saturday, the chief prosecutor in the case, Shimeles Kemal, said the opposition leaders’ crimes justified the death penalty.
The defendants were arrested after two bouts of violence following disputed 2005 elections in which 199 civilians and police were killed, 800 people wounded and 30,000 arrested according to a parliamentary inquiry.
The CUD said it would continue to “struggle for democracy” and pledged to resolve its differences with the government through a reconciliation process initiated by the same elders that negotiated their release.
The group was freed after the government made public a letter it said CUD leaders sent to Meles admitting their guilt and promising to respect the law.
The CUD said a government statement on the clemency agreement was different to what they agreed to, but gave no details.
“It is our belief that the elders will make public the true content of the agreement at a time and in a manner that is convenient to them,” the statement said.
LAMU, Kenya, July 25 — United Nations officials and the Ethiopian government appear to have reached an agreement to allow emergency food aid into a conflict-ridden area that the Ethiopian military has been blockading for several weeks, both sides said on Wednesday.
But Ethiopian officials expelled the Red Cross from the same area after accusing its workers of being rebel spies.
According to Nur Abdi Mohammed, a government spokesman, food deliveries will soon begin to most parts of the eastern Ogaden region, which the Ethiopian military has recently sealed off in an apparent effort to squeeze a growing rebel movement there.
“The food distribution has started from the center to different areas,” Mr. Mohammed said. “I think it will reach most places soon. But where there is no security, there will not be deliveries.”
Peter Smerdon, a spokesman for the United Nations’ World Food Program, said that United Nations officials had been meeting with the Ethiopian government for several weeks about access for food aid and that teams had reached most parts of the conflict region to determine how much aid was needed.
“The food is still not there in all the zones, but there is a process under way,” Mr. Smerdon said. “We are working with Ethiopian officials and others on exactly how the food will be dispatched.”
Mr. Smerdon said that with food prices rapidly rising, local markets empty and the flood season beginning next month, there could be a “humanitarian crisis” in some areas unless the military lifted restrictions on food aid and commercial traffic.
The Ogaden is one of the poorest parts of one of the poorest countries, and also the site of an intense insurgency and counterinsurgency.
The most active rebel group in the area, and possibly all of Ethiopia, is the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The government considers it a group of rebel terrorists, especially after members attacked a Chinese oil field in the area in April, killing more than 60 soldiers and Chinese workers. At the same time, human rights groups and villagers say that Ethiopian troops have gang-raped women, burned down villages and tortured civilians.
Several former administrators from the area and a member of Parliament who recently defected have accused the Ethiopian military and its proxy militias of skimming food aid and using a United Nations polio eradication program to funnel money to fighters. The Ethiopian government has denied the accusations and said it was the Ogaden rebels who were stealing food aid and abusing the population. The government has also accused the Front of getting arms and training from Eritrea, Ethiopia’s enemy.
Western diplomats and lawmakers in Congress have expressed concern about Ethiopia’s human rights record. Several measures are moving through the House and Senate that would place strict conditions on assistance to Ethiopia, which receives nearly half a billion dollars in American aid each year.
Western diplomats in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, said their biggest issue was the military blockade, which they said was putting hundreds of thousands of impoverished nomads at risk of starvation. Several humanitarian officials have said that they need to temper their criticisms or not speak publicly so as to prevent their organizations from being permanently blocked from the area.
On Tuesday, regional government officials, who oversee the Ogaden, expelled the Red Cross.
“They were spies,” Mr. Mohammed said. “They were following regional officials and relaying information to the rebels.”
Red Cross officials declined to comment, saying they were still negotiating with the government to find a way to stay. The regional government has given the Red Cross, which runs water and livestock projects in the Ogaden, seven days to leave; its projects in other parts of the country would not be affected.
It seems that the Ethiopian government is increasingly suspicious about foreign involvement in the Ogaden, a desert on the Somali border where most residents are ethnic Somalis and where a separatist movement has brewed for decades.
Mohamed Abdi, an Ethiopian-American working as an interpreter for the American military in the Ogaden, has been held incommunicado and without charges in a prison in eastern Ethiopia since he was arrested in early May. Relatives and American Embassy officials said Mr. Abdi, 45, was working on humanitarian projects in the Ogaden when Ethiopian troops detained him and two American soldiers, who were soon released.
Despite spending 21 months in prison with a life sentence looming, former Norfolk State University professor Yacob Hailemariam said Wednesday he has no regrets about his activism in his home country Ethiopia.
“Believe me, it is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life,” Hailemariam said in a telephone interview from his apartment in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.
The Ethiopian government pardoned and released him and 37 other opposition leaders Friday, four days after sentencing them to terms of up to life in prison for inciting violent protests after disputed 2005 elections.
Hailemariam and others denied the charges and declined to defend themselves, calling the trial a political sham. Human rights groups and members of Congress agreed. Amnesty International called the accused “prisoners of conscience.”
Hailemariam, who turned 63 on Saturday, had returned to Ethiopia in late 2004, anxious to help move it toward democracy when elections were announced. That remains his goal, he said.
“I went to law school on the backs of poor peasants who have starved to death,” he said, referring to his free education. “I feel I am indebted. I came back to pay that debt. Of course, things have happened, but I did my best. I have absolutely no regrets.”
Since his release five days ago, he said, about 2,000 well-wishers have visited his apartment. They have left food and gifts – including 50 bottles of scotch – for the soft-spoken former business law professor and United Nations special envoy.
Hailemariam said he left prison physically and mentally healthy. He and his colleagues typically rose at 6:30 a.m. and exercised for two hours – doing calisthenics, push-ups and sit-ups. He read more books and magazines – newspapers weren’t allowed – than when he taught at Norfolk State. Writing was forbidden, which was his biggest frustration, but he managed to sneak out one long protest letter that was posted on Web sites.
Other prisoners showed the opposition leaders respect by washing their dishes and clothes. Saturdays and Sundays – visiting days – brought lines of people, often strangers, bearing food and gifts and, most importantly to Hailemariam and the others, showing support for their cause.
“Prison becomes very light if you know why you are in prison,” he said.
For eight months, Hailemariam and five others elected by fellow prisoners used intermediaries to negotiate with the government for their release. At 10 a.m. Friday, he and the others were given 30 minutes’ notice that they were being freed.
Escorted home, he entered his apartment to a ringing phone. It was his wife, Tegist, who lives in Virginia Beach with their son, who had already heard the news.
“It was really welcome, a welcome gesture,” Hailemariam said of his release. “But the most important issue was what could we do next.”
He’ll return to the United States in three weeks to visit family and friends. He wants to thank them, the Norfolk State community and local members of Congress for their support. And then after a month he wants to go back to Ethiopia. He has unfinished business, he said: The Ethiopian community that elected him in 2005 has no roads, electricity or water.
“I’m going to go back and represent people in any way I can,” he said. He’s hoping his wife and married daughter and grandchildren will accompany him for a while.
Democracy remains a hope, although he’d have to consult with his family before running again for office, he said. “People are so grateful for what we have done, but we haven’t done much,” he said. Still, he said, he and fellow leaders “have ignited a thirst for democracy, and nobody can extinguish that.”
As a result of the political unrest in our country, following the May 2005 election, lives have been lost, human and democratic rights of numerous citizens have been violated and valuable property has been destroyed. Furthermore, our society has sustained a psychological wound that is not likely to heal easily. The problem that our country is facing at present will not be solved easily. However, it is our ardent hope that we as a nation will recuperate gradually and strive forward in the fulfillment of our objectives.
We the leaders of CUD are among the victims of the national and widespread unrest. We have now been released on July 20, 2007 after 20 months of imprisonment. Numerous domestic and foreign forces have made strong efforts to secure our release. Many Ethiopians at home and abroad have held prayer and fasting vigils in their places of worship. Others have shown their solidarity with us through public demonstrations, undetained by hostile weather.
National elders have strived to resolve the problem through peace and reconciliation. We wish to thank our Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian advocates of human rights and democracy for the support and the peace of mind they gave us when we were in detention.
We wish to express our deep respect to our compatriots who lost their lives during this time of difficulty. They shall be remembered by us, former detainees, and by Ethiopians as a whole as martyrs for democracy. We shall also remember their families that God may give them consolation.
It is to be recalled that national elders have been making concerted efforts to have us released from prison and to extricate the Ethiopian peaceful political process from the aggressive and intransigent state in which it finds itself. Their effort was focused not only on having us released from detention but also on restoring the derailed democratic process to its proper course. Based on this understanding, we have agreed to resolve the conflict through a reconciliation process as initiated by the elders. We have further agreed to forgive all those who have done wrong, to seek ways by which those who have been harmed could be healed, but above all to look to the future and concentrate on the positive conditions that would be created after the reconciliation.
Our common effort is aimed at protecting our country from plunging into a quagmire of problems. Because of this aim, we have endeavored from the start not to be guided by hatred and to bear with patience the wrongs inflicted upon us.
We have discussed, with the elders, various issues considered necessary for creating a spirit of reconciliation and we have reached agreement on many points. We have also been made to understand by the elders that the agreements reached between us and them are also agreed upon by other concerned parties. Even though the statement released by the government is different from the agreement reached between the elders and us, it is
our belief that the elders will make public the true content of the agreement at a time and in a manner that is convenient to them. It is also our belief that the people understand the true nature of the intensive propaganda campaign that the government is waging through the mass media after the conclusion of the agreement. We are also fully confident that the propaganda barrage will not, in any way, reduce the strong support that the people have for CUD. This support has been clearly affirmed by the respect and love the people have shown us after our release from detention.
We have chosen to overlook the government propaganda and not to respond in kind because it would serve no purpose other than poisoning the spirit of reconciliation that we, the elders and the Ethiopian people in general would like to see prevailing. Rather, as political leaders, we have chosen to look forward to a bright future, because we believe that this approach will provide us a sound foundation for the success of our struggle for democracy. We the leaders of CUD wish to reaffirm our firm commitment to this struggle.
Currently, the first measure that the Ethiopian people would like to see taken according to the reached agreement is the release of all our members accused in connection with the unrest following the May 2005 election and who are still in detention. It is our ardent hope that the elders will pursue the release of these prisoners as a matter of urgency.
Finally, we the leaders of CUD, reaffirm our commitment to seeing democracy prevail in our country, and our readiness to work with other national forces that go along with the principles that we hold. After discussing the current situation prevailing in our country, CUD will make public the activities that it will subsequently pursue for the fulfillment of its peaceful objectives.
